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MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



MELBA'S PUNT LESSONS 



A Nature Reader for Children 

of the 

Third and Fourth Grade 



By 
FANNIE M. OLIVER. 



Boston 
THE ROXBURGH PUBLISHING COMPANY. INC. 






Copyrighted 1919 

By The Roxburgh Pub. Co. 

All Rights Reserved. 



OCT 23 1919 



©CI.A535439 



^\ 



PREFACE 



To Mothers and Teachers: 

This volume is intended for a supplemen- 
tary reader and to be used in connection with 
specimens as far as possible. 

A writer on Art, in speaking of originality, 
said that "It consists in the power of combin- 
ing and transfusing, digesting and assimilat- 
ing the material that comes into our posses- 
sion from any source whatever." 

Such is the only originality claimed in this 
volume. To the boys and girls is this book 
inscribed, hoping the information may aweken 
a real desire for a thorough knowledge of 
plant life, and may it be as interesting to 
those who read and study it, as its preparation 
has been to your friend 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS 

Page 
Introduction 

The Bean 15 

Talk on Growth 25 

Buds and Branching 28 

Talk on Buds 32 

Talk on the Kinds of Buds 35 

Talk on the Duration of Plants 38 

Roots 42 

Talk on Stems 50 

Roots and Stalks 59 

Leaves 64 

Compound Leaves 'J2 

Talk on Flowers 82 

Nature Study no 

Simple and Compound Pistils 115 

Formation of New Plants 122 

The Fruit 124 

Compound Ovary 131 

Seeds 135 

Plant Construction 144 

Why Plants Grow 146 



INTRODUCTION. 

Little Melba Andrews was born in the 
early part of the year 1870, in the western 
part of New York State, but went with her 
parents, when a baby, to live on a large 
ranch, far to the southwest, many miles 
from any town or settlement. Melba grew 
as the years passed, and soon became a big 
girl. You will no doubt think she must 
have been very lonely, when you learn that 
she had no brothers or sisters, and that 
there were no other children near to play 
with her. But Melba had a beautiful home. 
It was surrounded with so many interesting 
and wonderful things, and she was early 
taught to notice and enjov them, and there- 
fore had no time to think of her loneliness. 
But when she reached school age, the mon- 
otony of her life was broken, because her 
parents had a school room erected and 
beautifully furnished with modern equip- 
ment, and secured the services of an excel- 
lent governess for her. 

Melba enjoyed the change, and Miss 
Williams, her teacher, enjoyed being with 
her. Melba was bright and learned fast, 
and before she was ten years old, had devel- 
oped into quite an intelligent little scholar. 



10 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 

Besides the information obtained from her 
books, Melba learned many things from her 
surroundings. The ranch was a great 
school ; her home was an ideal one ; the house 
was large and commodious. Rare plants 
filled the large verandas and the spacious 
lawn that surrounded the handsome man- 
sion, wus dotted with many beautiful 
flowering shrubs. 

Many varieties of wild birds nested in the 
forest trees that still grew on the lawn. 
Altogether it formed a pleasing picture, and 
Melba never tired of it. 

Mr. Andrews conducted his ranch on a 
very extensive scale. He raised live-stock, 
poultry, fruits and vegetables for marketing, 
and from a very little girl, Melba had 
accompanied her papa on his inspecting 
tours of the farm. On her trips with him, 
she had seen man}- things that interested 
her and aroused her curiosity. Her papa 
did not have time to answer the questions 
she wanted to ask concerning many of the 
things she saw, but now that she had a 
teacher, whose delight it was to instruct her, 
she would wait until she returned to ask 
her. Miss Williams was interested and en- 
deavored to give her just the information 
she needed on the subjects that came up. 

^lelba was ytry much interested in vege- 
table life and things of nature generally. 
The extensive sloping meadows, the large 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS H 

Streams and the little river-lets; the many 
wild flowers that grew along the road-side 
and in the meadows ; the wild birds, butter- 
flies and other insects not only attracted 
but interested her greatly. 

She enjoyed the life and activity of the 
growing and ripening season, but the 
fading of autumn somehow did not impress 
her. One day late in the fall her teacher 
noticed that she was not preparing to go 
with her papa as usual, and asked her why. 
"I don't care to go now, Miss Williams; 
there is nothing to see. Everything is dead 
and dried up." 

'*Yes, they do look dead, dear,** said her 
teacher, "but they are only asleep. It is 
nature's night time, and the mother has put 
all her plant children to bed.** 

"What mother. Miss Williams?** 

"Mother Nature, Melba. She has also 
sent the insects to their winter homes, and 
the birds that sang so sweetly all spring, 
summer and early fall, to a faraway country 
where it is warm. Just as we put off our 
clothes when we have finished our day's 
work and go to sleep, so the trees and plants 
have finished their's fer this season and are 
simply resting until the time comes for 
them to begin their work again. You watch 
and you will see when spring comes, all the 
trees and plants that now appear dead, will 
awake and life will return." 



12 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

"That seems so very strange. I cannot 
see how it can be true." 

"Yes, but it is true, and all you have to 
do is to wait and see.*' 

The dreary winter days finally passed, 
and spring made its appearance. 

"Well, spring is here at last, Melba," said 
her teacher, as she tore from the calendar 
the February leaf and exposed the days and 
dates of the new month that had just ar- 
rived. "March, the first spring month, is 
here." 

"I am glad, I am very glad spring has 
come. Why do they call the season that 
follows winter spring?" 

"Because it is the season in which all 
nature awakes from the resting period, as 1 
told you, and spring, into life and activity. 
Now, Melba, I want you to give attention 
and observe closely the changes that occur 
in the vegetation and animal life that sur- 
rounds you." 

Melba did as her teacher told her and 
many times she said, I am looking but 
I see no change in any way. But at last she 
saw the snow melt from the hill-sides and 
the ice-bound streams liberated. She noted 
the meadows, that for many weeks had 
been brown and dry, taking on a covering 
of green; the change in forest and field, 
and the growth and development of bud, 
stem, leaf, blossom and fruit on trees and 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 13 

plants, that a while before seemed lifeless, 
told a wonderful story to Melba. 

After the days grew sunny, Melba began 
her visits to the farm when it was conven- 
ient for her to go. She now enjoyed them 
in a different way to what she did at first. 
She made many trips during the planting 
time, and saw and heard many things she 
did not understand and would have to ask 
her teacher on her return home. 

One day, after her visit with her papa to 
the garden, she said to her teacher: "I 
heard papa tell the foreman today, to see 
that the related vegetables were not planted 
too near each other. What did he mean?" 

*'He meant just what he said, Melba. 
When vegetables that belong to the same 
family group, grow too near each other, they 
mix in a way that spoils them, and your 
papa wants the purest vegetables that can 
be produced." 

"Will you please name some of the related 
plants?" 

"Yes; the horse radish, the turnip, the 
cabbage, the radish and mustard plants, are 
related. They have the same nature and 
belong to the same plant family." 

"Why, do plants have families?" 

"Yes, dear. Every plant, however large 
or small, is a member of some family, and 
has a distinct family name." 

"I don't see how one would know them 



14 2iIE13A"S ?LVS~r LESSOXS 

acar:. :here are s: ntanv liz^ere": 



i : ell to wha: :a!r.ily they be- 



•■H:"- ver.- r 


ruch I would like to know 


Oi^X u.i.Ci-i^w^i I- • 


heir family names." 


"^^efl, perl- 


s : u wfll, when you get to 


be an old^ g-: 


. an: have rttire tinte t: get 


acquainted v/::: 


: -.'r.trr.." 


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a:s are hard :: u-dtrstar: 


anywav. Miss 


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a a: ting rears and that 


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a bear. 




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undersa^r: i:/' 




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Miss '::hhi- 


s as ;azz!ed and wondered 


how sht r:igh: 


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let :Me: a a::: 


'. :henn z'-'-'"'- 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 15 



THE BEAN. 

One day not long after the last conversa- 
tion, Melba found a dish on her desk, con- 
taining several beans. "What must I do 
with these beans?" 

"Examine them closely, dear, then cover 
them with water and set the dish aside." 

"Why they are only beans, there is noth- 
ing to see." 

"Well, put the water on them, and set 
them aside as I told you." 

Melba did as her teacher told her, and pro- 
ceeded to her studies. The next day when 
the study hour came, the teacher told Melba 
to bring the dish with the beans with her. 

"Let us examine these beans again," said 
the teacher. Melba took one of them and 
seemed surprised to see it so changed. 
"What difference do you see in the bean 
since you put it in the water?*' 

"It has become very much larger." 

"Take this pin and remove the skin. What 
happened to the bean when you took the 
skin off?" 

"It separated in two parts." 

"Then what do you think the skin is for?" 



16 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

"I should think to hold the parts of the 
bean together." 

"Yes, and to protect them," said Miss 
Williams. ''You see, Melba, the bean is 
made of two thick leaves. They are the 
seed leaves. But they have a special name 
that you must remember. They are the 
Cotyledons. Hereafter when we speak of 
seedleaves we shall call them by their name. 
Look on the inside of the Cotyledons, and 
you will see a little plant. Can you see it?" 

"Why, yes, I can. How do you suppose 
it got there ? Did it grew there as the bean 
grew ?" 

"Yes, it did, and that is what I want you 
to know. A little plant grows in every bean. 
The bean is the sleeping place, or cradle for 
the baby bean plant. It sleeps in there as 
did the trees and flowers you saw during 
the winter. But when spring comes, and 
the bean is put in the ground, the soil 
warmed by the sun, and moistened by the 
rain, wakes up the baby plant, and it 
creeps out, a tiny little plant as you saw in 
in the field. And with proper care and at- 
tention it will grow to a big plant and bear 
beans. Now Melba, set the dish away, and 
tomorrow we will find out something more 
about the bean." 

When Melba went for a drive that after- 
ternoon, the things she saw had a double in- 
terest for her. She remembered the beau- 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 17 

tiful lesson she had learned, and could hard^ 
ly wait for the time when she was to con- 
tinue the lesson. 

When the study hour came again, Melba 
was told to bring her dish with the beans 
again. The teacher said to her, "Take a 
bean and show me the Cotyledons, Melba. 
Take this microscope and find the little 
plant. Do you see it?" 

"Yes, I do." 

''Well, the little plant has a name also. 
It is the embryo or the being from which 
the big plant grows. Look at the embryo 
closely, and you will see at one end of it a 
bud. Do you see it? That is the bud from 
which the leaf grows, and is called the 
plumule. Look at the other end of the em- 
bryo. What do you see?" 

"A little stem." 

"Yes, and from that little stemlet the 
root forms. It is called the radicle. Now, 
Melba, your questions concerning the bean 
have been answered. You have learned 
that the bean is simply the cradle in which 
a baby bean plant sleeps until under the 
proper conditions it begins to grow and 
leaves its resting place. Take the bean now, 
dear, and show me the cotyledons or seed 
leaves, the embryo, the plumule and the 
radicle. 

"Now, Melba, you have learned that the 
little plant is a real living thing, and for 



18 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

that reason when it begins to grow it must 
have food to live on, just as other living 
things must have. Mother Nature has pro- 
vided for that, and has so formed the mama 
plant, that as she bears the bean she also 
stores up enough food in the cotyledons for 
the baby plant to subsist on, until it is able 
to work for itself.'* 

Melba was interested in the lesson and 
wanted to continue the talk. 

"What shall I do with these other beans ?" 
she asked. 

"We are going to plant them," said the 
teacher. They went together to the garden, 
and prepared the soil. They made some lit- 
tle hills a few spaces apart and planted the 
beans. "We must not cover them too deep- 
ly, dear," said the teacher. "Pour the water 
that is in the dish on the hills." 

Melba did as she was told, and left the 
beans to grow. When the school hour was 
over, Melba went for her usual recreation, 
but her mind was on her nature lesson. She 
thought continually of what she had heard, 
and wondered how the beans were getting 
along in the dark, damp earth and how the 
air and sunshine could reach through to 
wake up the sleeping baby plants, when 
their cradle is buried so deep in the soil. 

A few days after the last lesson, the teach- 
er told Melba to take up one of the beans 
and bring it to the class-room. Melba 



IMELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 19 

hardly recognized the bean as the one she 
had planted. She was surprised to find a lit- 
tle rootlet almost an inch long growing from 
one end of the cotyledons. "Look, Miss Wil- 
liams, how this little plant is coming out." 

"Yes, dear, the bean has been working 
very hard." 

A few days later the second bean was tak- 
en up. It had two little leaves, and a root 
about two inches long. "Just look how this 
little plant has been growing!" 

"Yes, you see one end has been growing 
down into the dark earth to make roots, 
while the other was stretching up to find 
the warm air and sunshine." 

The third plant was left to grow. Melba 
took great delight in watching and tending 
it. She noticed all the changes that took 
place. It grew to be a very large bean 
plant. In due time the buds began to ap- 
pear and finally it was covered with little 
white blossoms. They soon withered and 
dropped off, and tiny green pods appeared 
in their places. Melba reported to her 
teacher that the plant is full of little bean 
pods. They grew larger and larger, until 
Melba said one day, "I can almost get beans 
enough for dinner off my plant." But her 
teacher told her not to pull them, but to 
watch, and notice what other change will 
take place in the plant. 

A few weeks passed before Melba spoke 



20 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 

of her plant again and when she did, she 
told her teacher: "The plant is dead, now, 
Miss Williams.'^ 

"Well, pull it up and bring it to class with 
you." 

Melba did so. As she laid the plant with 
its dry pods on the desk, several of them 
burst open and a number of the beans fell 
out. 

"We seem to be right where we started," 
said the teacher. 

"Yes, but these are new beans," said 
Melba, "and we only planted one bean for 
this plant, and here we have many." 

"So we have. Xow, Melba, if we should 
plant these beans they will bring new 
plants." 

"Where did this plant come from?'' 

"It came from the bean we planted. 
Where are our bean plants for next year, 
Melba?" 

"They are in these beans." 

"How must we obtain them?" 

"We must plant the beans and let them 
grow and bear them." 

'What part of the bean will grow into a 
plant?" 

"No part. The plant is already formed 
in the bean and will come out of it, when 
we plant it." 

"Do you understand now, Melba, how the 
men planted beans and obtained plants." 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS »1 

"Yes, Miss Williams. Do all seeds hold 
a baby plant?" 

"Certainly they do. What did we call the 
baby plant in the bean?" 

"We called it the embryo." 

"Yes, and any seed that has no embryo 
will not produce a plant. What did these 
pods do?" 

"They held the seed." 

"Then we can say they are the seed- 
holders." 

"When we eat string beans we are eat- 
ing the seed-holders?" 

"Yes, and we can also call that part of the 
plant, the fruit. The fruit holds the seed. 
What did these pods grow from?" 

"They grew from the blossom." 

"Now, Melba, let's have the process. 
First the bud, then the blossom from which 
comes the fruit, and then the seed, that 
holds the future, or new plant." 

"I see. Miss Williams." 

"Now, Melba, these take no part in nour- 
ishing the plant. Their work is to give or 
reproduce new plants, and are therefore 
called the organs of reproduction." 

"Miss Williams, why did this plant dry 
up and die so soon? Why didn't it remain 
green like other plants in the garden?" 

"It had finished its work, Melba, and the 
sap ceased to flow in the veins of its stems. 
The sap, you know, is that watery substance 



22 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

that you find in all plants when you break 
or cut them. You have noticed it, haven't 
you ?" 

"Why, yes, I have." 

"When the plant has finished the work 
Mother Nature has given it to do, the sap 
stops and the plant drys up." 

Melba sat holding the withered plant for 
some time. 

"What did the plant do when it first came 
out of the seed-cradle, Melba ?' 

"It grew until it became a grown plant." 

"What parts of the plant were mostly con- 
cerned in its growth?" 

"I think the roots were." 

"Yes, the roots, stems and leaves. They 
were the most concerned, because they came 
first. They are called the organs of vegeta- 
tion. It is true in all plants. The root 
descends into the ground, and sends its 
branches in all directions through the soil, 
for the purpose of finding food for the plant. 
The stem is the ascending portion. It bears 
the leaves and flowers. The leaves breathe 
for the plant and digest the food taken by 
the roots. Xow can you name the organs 
of vegetation, Melba? Yes, they are the 
roots, stems and leaves. The lesson is over 
now, dear, and you may go. Take the plant 
with you." 

What must I do with it, Miss Williams?' 



MELBA'S PL^NT LESSONS 2a 

"Anything you choose. You are through 
with it," 

"I wish I could keep it for I have really 
enjoyed having it so much, I hate to part 
with it." 

"Why not draw the picture of it then, 
Melba? You can keep it." 

"So I will," said Melba. 

"If you do, make your picture tell the 
whole story. Begin with the bean and draw 
it as you saw it, in the different stages of 
growth. Then write a story about it, and 
bring both to class wih you, when you have 
finished them." 

A few weeks passed, then Miss Williams 
said: 

"Melba, it is nature study today, so you 
may bring your picture and story of the 
bean plant." She examined the work 
closely and was much surprised at the 
exactness of the drawings, and the many 
facts of the lesson brought out in the story. 

"This is good, Melba. I see you remem- 
ber well. We will have some lessons like 
this some time." 

"Yes, Miss Williams, you said you would 
tell me something about the plant families, 
and I think this is a good time to begin." 

"Yes, Melba, I did say some time we 
would take the plant families, but I had not 
thought of doing it at this time. There are 
a great many things that you must know 



24 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

about plants, Melba, before you will be able 
to take them by families." 

"Oh, please tell me what they are, I must 
know." 

"Well, Melba, you must know how plants 
grow; what kind of food they take; why 
roots, stems and buds differ ; why leaves are 
not arranged on stems alike; you will have 
to see the difference between leaves, flowers 
and fruit, taking under consideration their 
many shapes, colors and kinds. What 
growth is, and how it is carried on; why 
plants grow; how trees increase in height; 
Tiow a stem grows from a bud, in the 
-embryo to a tall vine, and how a tiny plant 
in the seed can develop into a large one; 
why some stems have branches and some 
have not; what action in plant life is, and 
how it is carried on; what gives color and 
form to leaves, buds and flowers. You will 
also have to learn about the kinds of roots, 
stems, leaves, buds, flowers, fruit and seeds 
before you are ready to study the plants by 
families." 

Melba looked at her teacher and left the 
class room in silence. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 25 



THE TALK ON GROWTH. 
Section A. 

When the hour for the plant lesson came 
again Miss Williams said to Melba: "We 
shall take up our work on plant-life now, 
Melba, and try to answer those questions we 
had the other day. 

''Our first talk will be on growth : Growth 
is the increase of a living thing in size and 
substance. It is the building up of the 
plant out of vegetable matter. Vegetable 
matter is made of mineral matter, and min- 
eral matter is drawn from the earth and 
air." 

"Where is the vegetable matter made, 
Miss Williams?" 

"It is made in the leaves of the plant. 
Plants are fixed to the earth, as you know, 
and therefore have not the power of 
locomotion but nevertheless, they work 
very hard. They are continually in action 
and that action is called vegetating. Vege- 
tating consists of two things — assimilation 
and growth. In assimilation, the plant is 
changing mineral matter; that is air, water 
and a little earth into vegetable matter. 
In growth this vegetable matter is made 



26 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

into all manner of beautiful forms and 
colors.. This, Melba, is the great work of 
the plants all over the world, and it is their 
peculiar work. Only plants have the power 
of changing air, water and earth into vege- 
table matter. To grow into a plant the 
embryo in a seed must be fed with this 
vegetable matter, or with something out of 
which vegetable matter can be made. 

"When a plant has sent down roots in the 
soil and spread out some leaves in the dirt, 
it is then able to change mineral matter 
into vegetable matter, and so to live and 
grow independently. But at the beginning, 
before its organs are developed and estab- 
lished in their proper places, the forming 
plant must be supplied by ready-made vege- 
table matter furnished by the Mother Plant. 

"The young plant has all the organs at 
first that it will have except those that 
belong to the blossoms. It has only to grow 
and make more of what it already has ; more 
stems, more leaves and roots to draw 
more nourishment from the soil. As fast 
as the plant makes new vegetable material, 
it uses it to increase its size and strength. 
It adds to its roots below and its stems 
above. It unfolds a new leaf, or a pair of 
leaves on every joint. Each joint of stem 
soon gets its full length and its leaf or pair 
of leaves their full size. Then instead of 
continuing their growth, these parts set to 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 27 

work to prepare nourishment for the growth 
of the young parts that are forming above 
them. In this way, Melba, piece by piece, 
the stem is carried up higher and higher, 
and its leaves increased in number. 

This closes the talk now, dear. The next 
time we shall talk about the growth or 
development of stems, branches, leaves and 
buds, which will include their formation and 
arrangement. You must go now, Melba, 
your papa is calling you. He is in the 
buggy waiting for you." 

Melba was glad to go with her papa this 
time. . As she looked at the growing vege- 
tables and other plants, they appeared so 
different to her to what they did before, she 
had learned so much about them. She 
thought, dear plants. I am so glad to know 
that you are real living things with work to 
do, and that you are so industrious and 
never leave any of your work undone. I am 
glad that you have a mother and are mem- 
bers of a family, that you have a name, some 
cousins and a home. Some day I shall know 
you better and then I will call you by your 
name. 



28 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



BUDS AND BRANCHING. 

"We shall have a talk on stems today, 
Melba. There are two kinds of stems ; those 
with branches and those without. The 
stems that have no branches are called 
simple stems. There are many plants, and 
some trees that have simple stems, but 
usually when stems grow they form 
branches. 

"Branches are also formed by roots. 
There is no particular arrangement about 
the branches that spring from roots, be- 
cause they send them off from any part of 
the main root. But the branches of stems 
that spring from particular places are ar- 
ranged on a regular plan. They arise from 
the axil of the leaf and no where else." 

"What is the axil of the leaf, Miss 
Williams?" 

"It is the space just above where the leaf 
is attached to the stem or tree. As 
branches come only from the axil of the 
leaves, and since the leaves have a perfectly 
regular and uniform arrangement in each 
plant, you see, Melba, that the places where 
the branches come were fixed for them by 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



29 



the position of the leaves and they must 
follow their arrangement. Therefore the 
branch is not an independent, but an irreg- 
ular growth. 

"Branches first appear in the form of buds. 
Buds are therefore undeveloped branches, 
leaves or flowers, Melba, and if they were 
so arranged that you could look into the 
buds, you could see which they contain 
before they open. The plumule or first 
shoot of the embryo is a bud. That bud 
makes the main stem, and its growth week 
after week, or year after year, carries on the 
stem. It is always on the end of the stem, 
and is therefore called the terminal bud. 

*'The buds that form the branches appear 
on the sides of the stem. Since they are 
situated in the axils of the leaves, they are 
called axillary buds. These buds grow into 
branches just as the first or terminal bud 
grows to make the main stem. The arrange- 
ment of the branches, therefore, follow that 
of the axillary buds, and the arrangement of 
the buds follow the arrangement of the 
leaves. 

"Leaves come on the stem in two ways. 
They are either alternate or opposite. They 
are alternate when they follow each other, 
there being only one to each joint of stem, 
as they grow on this morning glory vine. 
Look at it, Melba. The arrangement is also 
seen in this spray from the linden tree. I 



30 MELBA'S PLANT LESSON'S 

grew this vine and put this twig in water 
that the leaves would develop so you could 
see the alternate arrangement. 

"Leaves are opposite when there are two 
leaves on each joint of stem, as in these 
sprays from the horse-chestnut, lilac and 
maple. One leaf in each case is always on 
the opposite side of the stem, from its 
fellow. In the axil of almost every leaf a 
bud is formed. 

"Look at this spray from the linden tree 
again. The buds are axillary and alternate 
like the leaves. It also has a terminal bud. 
This twig of the maple has its axillary buds 
opposite, and a terminal bud also. Next 
spring these alternate buds will grow into 
alternate branches and these opposite buds 
into opposite branches. These branches in 
their turn form buds in the axils of their 
leaves that grow into branches and so on 
year after year. You thus see, Melba, while 
the buds and branches vary in their arrange- 
ment on the stem, there is a perfect regular- 
ity in their placing thereon. 

Each variety is arranged its way and is 
unchangeable. You can best learn that it 
is an established fact by examining the buds 
themselves." 

"When is the best time for the examina- 
tion, Miss Williams?" 

"In the winter time, dear, when the twigs 
are bare. You can also tell where the 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 31 

leaves of last year were, by noticing the 
leaf scar, for each fallen leaf has left a mark 
where the branches will appear, for their 
buds are also conspicuous. 

"I have some twigs here for you to look 
at. This one is from the horse-chestnut. 
These are the leaf-scars that we were 
talking about. Can you tell me the arrange- 
ment of the buds " 

'*Yes, they are opposite." 

"That is right. What will you call the 
large end bud?" 

"It is the terminal bud." 

"Certainly it is. I see you do remember. 
Here is a twig from the hickory tree. What 
can you say about the arrangement of its 
buds?"' 

"They are alternate and are placed just 
above the scars." 

"Is there anything else noticeable 
about it?" 

"Yes; it also has a large terminal bud." 

"Well, we will stop now, dear. Our next 
talk will be on buds. The subject is so 
closely connected with the subject of 
branching, that we decided to take the two 
together, and so our next talk will simply 
be a continuation of the one we had today. 
Meanwhile, Melba, as you pass around 
among the trees and plants, give attention 
to the arrangement of leaves and buds upon 
the stems of the plants you, see, and it will 
help you to classify them. 



32 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



THE TALK ON BUDS. 

"We will begin our talk on buds today^ 
Melba. The bud forms a very important 
part of plant life. All buds are formed 
toward the close of the growing season, or 
in the fall, and must stand the cold weather. 
They are therefore protected from the frost 
by a covering. 

"Let's notice some of their coverings. 
These are the buds of the horse-chestnut 
and balm of Gilead; they are covered with 
a sticky substance. Buds take their name 
from their covering. These with no pro- 
tecting scales are called naked buds, and 
these that have a protection formed of al- 
tered leaves or bases of leaves are called 
scally buds. Look at these buds ; they are 
from the willow and poplar trees. You see 
they are as if varnished. These are from 
the surmac and these from the hickory. 
They have a woolly covering. The apple, 
hazel and lilac have a scally one. 

"Thus you see, Melba, the Mama plant 
knows just what to do for !ier babies. 
Mother Nature tells them when the long 
busy work day that began with the spring 
time is over, to put all the baby branches, 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 33 

leaves and flowers that are to come forth 
the next spring in their tiny cradles, cov- 
ered well with soft woolly blankets, where 
they are to sleep through the long winter 
days. But when spring comes, and they feel 
the warm sunshine, they will push aside 
their warm blankets and come out." 

"I think this is a most beautiful lesson, 
Miss Williams. I really love to hear about 
the Mama plant and how she obeys Mother 
Nature." 

"I am so glad you do enjoy the lesson, 
Melba. 

'There is also a regular order in which 
the leaves are wrapped in the leaf-bud, 
Melba, and we must talk a little about that, 
before we leave the bud subject. They are, 
of course, arranged differently in different 
plants. The most common arrangement is 
called the inflexed. It is found in the bud 
of the tulip-tree. The leaf is folded in the 
bud, from apex to base. In the flower-de- 
luce, the leaf is rolled from apex to base. 
That is called the cincinate arrangement. In 
the bud of the plum-tree, the leaf is rolled 
spirally, so that one edge is in the center of 
the coil. That is called the convolute 
arrangement. The leaf in the bud of the 
apple-tree has both edges rolled inward 
toward the mid-rib. That is called the in- 
volute arrangement. In the willow we have 
the edges rolled outward toward the mid- 



34 :melba'5 plaxt lessoxs 

rib. That is called the revolute arrange- 
ment. In the bud of the peach tree is found 
the conduplicate arrang-ement. In that the 
leaf is folded along the mid-rib so that the 
two halves are brought together. The 
plicate arrangement has the leaf in the 
bud. folded several times lengthwise like a 
fan. We find it in the bud of the birch-tree. 
The obvolute has both edges of the blade 
folded together, the opposite ones half in- 
closing each other. It is found in the dog- 
wood tree. Xow later, ^Melba, you will 
understand this talk better, when you shall 
have had the parts of the leaf. But it was 
better to take it, while we were on leaf and 
bud arrangement. The lesson is over, and 
you are excused."' 

''What shall we have next. Miss 
Williams.-" 

^'We are going to take the kinds of buds." 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 35 



TALK ON THE KINDS OF BUDS. 

"We are to talk today, Melba, on the kinds 
of buds. There are three kinds : leaf buds, 
flower buds and mixed buds. Leaf buds 
contain only leaves, and flower b^ds contain 
only flowers, while mixed buds contain both 
leaves and flowers. 

"Look at these buds, Melba; they are 
from the horse-chestnut and hickory. They 
are very strong. Buds like these have an 
indefinite annual growth. They generally 
contain already formed leaves and the joints 
of stems they are to produce. They usually 
make their whole growth in length in a 
few weeks and sometimes in a few days. 
Then they form and ripen their buds for 
the next year. 

"Indefinite annual growth is also well 
marked in such trees or shrubs as the honey, 
locust, surmac and the steril shoots of the 
rose, blackberry and raspberry. Such shoots 
are apt to grow all summer, or until they 
are stopped by the frost of autumn. There- 
fore they form and ripen no terminal bud 
that must be protected by scales. In such 
cases, the upper axillary bunds are produced 
so late in the fall they have no time to 



36 ]^IZLBA"S PLAXT LESSOXS 

mature, nor has their wood time to solidify 
and ripen. Such stems usually die from 
the top in the winter, or if they do not, their 
buds are small and feeble. In such cases 
the growth of the succeeding year takes 
place mainly from the lower axillary buds.'* 

"Does that have any effect on the appear- 
ance of the plant?" 

■'Why yes, dear, wherever axillary- buds 
take the lead, there is no single mainstem 
in a direct bud, continued year after 3'ear, 
but the trunk is soon lost in the branches. 
Trees so formed commonly have rounded 
Or spreading tops. The common American 
elm, is a good illustration. The tirst time we 
are out among the trees, I will call vour 
attention to the tree." 

*T wish you would, for I would like to 
know, for it will help me remember the 
lesson I had on that form of growth.'' 

"Yes, it will help you remember. In the 
firs and spruces we have specimens of 
growth, where the main stem is carried on 
in a direct line throughout the whole growth 
of the tree, by the development year after 
year of a terminal bud. 

**'Xow, Melba. this finishes the talk on the 
subject of growth. The only way you can 
be profited by these talks, will be to observe 
the trees and plants as you go out in forest, 
field and meadow. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 37 

"Our next talk will be on the duration of 
plants. You may go now," 

Melba ran out on the lawn. The grass, 
trees and flowers seemed to look different 
to her, and as she turned about and looked 
at them she said : "Oh ! you pretty things ! 
What a wonderful mother you have, and 
you are her good children, too, for you do 
just the thing she has given you to do." 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



THE TALK ON THE DURATION OF 
PLANTS. 

"The length of time, Melba, that plants 
endure, varies greatly. Some live only a 
few weeks, or months, and others last many 
years. The most familiar division of plants, 
according to their duration are herbs, shrubs 
and trees. Herbs are plants of soft texture. 
They have little or no wood in their stems, 
and when the season of their growth is over 
they die. Shrubs are plants with woody 
stems that endure and grow year after year. 
They do not reach any great height, but 
remain low and bushy. Trees are woody 
plants that arise by a trunk or main stem 
to a greater height than shrubs. 

"Herbs are divided according to their 
duration, into annuals, biennials and peren- 
nials. Annuals grow from the seed; they 
blossom and die all in the same season. 
They come from the seed in the spring and 
die in the autumn, as the flowers that adorn 
the walks and other common plants seen 
about the roadsides, in the field and 
meadows. Plants of this kind, Melba, have 
roots of long, slender threads or fibers. It 
is the fibers that mainly absorb moisture 
from the soil, and the more numerous they 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 39 

are, the more strength the plant has. As 
fast as nourishment is received, it is 
expended in making new stems and leaves, 
and finally in preparing flowers, fruit and 
seed. Annual plants continue to bear 
flowers in great numbers until they exhaust 
themselves and die." 

'Why, Miss Williams, that is the way 
the bean plant did. And since then I have 
noticed other plants do the same way." 

"Well, I am glad you have noticed them. 
They do not die until after they have 
ripened their seeds from which the new 
plants are to come the following spring, 
remember. 

''Biennial plants differ greatly in dura- 
tion from annual plants. They do not 
blossom at all the first season, but live 
through the winter, blossom the second 
year, ripen their seed and die. The beet, 
carrot, parsnip, cabbage and turnip are 
biennial plants. They have fleshy roots and 
are mostly made of leaves and roots. They 
work very hard. The food taken in by the 
leaves and roots is changed into vegetable 
matter by the leaves, and is carried down 
into the root and is there stored for the next 
year's use. So you see, the root of the 
biennial plant becomes large and heavy, 
being a storehouse of nourishing matter 
that is very useful. 

"Perennials are plants that live year after 



40 ilELBA'S PLA^^T LESSONS 

year. Trees, shrubs and some herbs are 
perennial plants. Only a portion of the 
herb sur^'ives through the winter/' 

"Miss Williams, please name some herb 
that does not die with the summer." 

"The peony, the dahlia and the sweet 
potato are herbs whose roots survive during 
the winter season. They contain the buds 
from which the next year's plant will grow. 
During the growing season there is a great 
quantity of nourishing matter stored up in 
the wood, bark, shoots, trunk and roots of 
shrubs and trees." 

"What becomes of that nourishment?" 

"It is that on which the buds of the next 
spring feed, and it enables them to develop. 
It clothes the naked branches with leaves 
and blossoms. 

"It is wonderful how Mother Nature pro- 
vides for her children. The grass that 
seems to spring up spontaneously after a 
spring shower and a few sunny days, was 
all prepared before hand. The leaves that 
were made the summer before and tucked 
away in winter buds, unfold much faster 
because of the nourishment that was pre- 
pared by the Mama plant, and laid away till 
needed. The many flowers that bedeck the 
plants in summer, do so without toil of their 
own, because the root and leaves of the 
Mama plant before them gathered the mate- 
rial from the earth and air and made it into 



M;ELBA'S plant lessors 41 

vegetable matter, and stored it away under- 
ground where the buds were put to slumber 
in bulb, root and seed. 

''Well, Melba, we have finished our talk 
on the duration of plants, and our nature 
lessons hereafter will be on the parts of the 
plant." 

"What part will we take first, Miss 
Williams?" 

''We will take the root. You may gO' 
now, Melba, and I will let you know when 
I am ready for another nature talk." 




ROOTSu 



""We; aie readf m bc^m omr HaSk an mm^ 
tsAy„ MdhoL Hk Koott^ if jam lemesiber, 
<if tibe oKsans of irc^eiattnL fiooSs 
odnoEd b^r stens. It is usnadty siop- 
posed tlaag: sien: . = ; r^r. r : * : " -30l^ bat tfhey 
Tbc £:£: : :•: : : '..2Jj^ jdh bsmpe 

fea i: :.-i-: r: : : : 7mm the 

Iffliet 5:— :: :. — : --- Hk 
gsoNws cm ft MLi.'. T 5 1 ~. i ~ : * -. 1 : * ; : : as it 
is called. Hr- : i 5^ :r.- :: it -i> 
loot^ iSns is t-^ 
Ibat feave tbif ^ 
ootlbeiridlaDlr 
side 
laiSs^ 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 43 

portion between successive leaves, or 
v^here they are attached. For precision, 
therefore, the place where the leaf or leaves 
are borne is called the node, and the naked 
interval betwen the two nodes is called the 
internodes. Stems grow by successive 
developments of internodes, one after an- 
other, each bearing a leaf at its summit or 
node. So you can see, Melba, it is essential 
for a stem to bear leaves. Roots do not 
bear leaves. They have no nodes nor inter- 
nodes. They grow on continually from the 
lower end. They commonly bunch freely, 
but not from any definite order. Although 
roots do not give rise to stems, there are 
some exceptional cases of which we must 
speak. Since stems produce adventitious 
buds, roots may also produce them." 

"What are adventitious buds. Miss 
Williams?" 

''They are buds that come by accident, or 
they just happen to come. The roots of 
the sweet potato among the herbs, and the 
Osage orange among the trees, produce 
adventitious buds that develop into leafy 
shoots. Those plants are propagated by 
root cuttings. Most growths of subter- 
ranean origin, that pass for roots, are 
not roots, but forms of stems. In the com- 
mon potato, for an example, the root, as you 
have learned, serves the double purpose of 
fixing the plant to the soil, and absorbing 




44 MZLBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

the food and nourishment necessarv- for its 
growth. Xow, Melba. we will stop for 
today, and at our next talk we will confine 
it mostlv to roots." 



COXTIXUATIOX OF TALK OX 
ROOTS. 

*''We are to continue our talk on roots 
today, Melba."' 

''1 am so glad, Miss Williams, for since 
they are the part of the plant that is entirely 
out of sight, the subject is harder to under- 
stand.'' 

''You know we finished the other day by 
saying that the root fixes the plant to the 
soil and absorbs the food necessary for its 
growth and nourishment. It is the nature 
of roots to divide themselves into branches 
and spread beneath the ground. Roots are 
usually classified as fibrous, and fleshy roots. 
We shall examine some specimens of the 
different kinds and that will aid you in 
understanding. 

"Here is the root of the Indian corn. It 
is a specimen of the fibrous root. Most of 
the annual and many of the perennial plants 
have fibrous roots. They serve only for 
absorption. If you will examine them, you 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 45 

will see that they send out fine branches. 
Those branches are called rootlets. The 
whole surface of a root absorbs moisture 
from the soil while it is fresh and new. The 
newer the roots and rootlets, the more 
freely they absorb. As long as the plant 
grows above the ground and expands to 
fresh foliage, so long it continues to extend 
and multiply its roots in the soil beneath, 
which increases the surface for absorbing 
moisture, so as to supply the demand above. 
But when growth ceases above, and the 
leaves die and fall, as you saw in the bean 
plant, the roots generally stop growing and 
their soft and tender tips harden. 

"That is why you will see persons 
transplanting trees and shrubs late in the 
fall or very early in the spring, before the 
leaves come. The absorbing surface of 
roots is much increased by the formation 
near their tips of root-hairs. They are 
delicate tubular outgrowths through the 
thin walls of which moisture is promptly 
imbibed. 

"We have already spoken of the fleshy 
root of the turnip and carrot and how they 
become a store-house of nourishment. 
They are biennial plants, and the food 
created in the first season's vegetation is 
accumulated to be expanded the next sea- 
son, in vigorous growth and rapid develop- 
ment of flowers, fruit and seed. After the 



46 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

seed is matured the root dies, and with it 
the whole plant. 

"Fleshy roots, Melba, may be single or 
multiple. The single root of the commoner 
biennial, is the tap-root which begins to 
thicken in the seed-bins. Names have been 
given to its shapes as follows: In the 
parsnip and carrot, when it thickens mostly 
at the crown or where it joins the stem, and 
tapers regularly downward to a point, it is 
called a conical-shaped root. When greatly 
thickened above, but abruptly becoming 
slender below, as you see in this turnip, it 
is called a turnip-shaped or nape-form root. 
When it is thickest in the middle, but 
tapers to both ends as it does in the common 
radish, it is called a spindle-shaped root. 
The roots mentioned are the first in impor- 
tance, or the primary roots, as they are 
called. Next time, Melba, we will take up 
the secondary roots." 



CONTINUATION OF THE TALK ON 
ROOTS. 

*'Well, Melba, we will go on with our 
lesson on roots today. Do you find it dry?" 

"Why no, Miss Williams, I find it inter- 
esting, and I am glad to take up the subject 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 47 

"Some of the secondary roots remain 
fibrous for absorption, while some thicken 
and store up food for the next season's 
growth. Let's look at this sweet potato 
plant. See, it is forming thickened roots. 
There in the middle they are just beginning 
to thicken. Look at this one; it is almost 
grown. These roots here are used for 
propagation by cuttings, for any part of it 
will produce adventitious buds and shoots 
from which plants will grow. 

''Our next example is of the clustered 
root; the root of the dahlia. Look at each 
separate root. See, they are also spindle- 
shaped. They do not produce adventitious 
buds." 

"How are they propagated, Miss 
Williams?" 

"The buds by which the dahlias are 
propagated belong to the surviving base of 
the stem above the root.'* 

"Oh, yes; I see." 

"We will now talk on the irregular roots. 
They are a class of roots that subserve other 
uses than absorption, food storing and fixing 
the plant to the soil. They are aerial roots. 
They grow from stems in the open air; but 
not in all climates. They grow in warm, 
moist climates. Aerial rootlets are 
abundantly produced by many climbing 
plants, such as the ivy and trumpet creeper. 
They spring from the side of the stems and 



48 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

are used by the plant for climbing and 
fastening itself to the trunks of trees, walls 
or other supports. There is another class 
of plants whose roots have no connection 
with the soil, but derive their sustenance 
from the air only. They are called air 
plants. They have aerial roots which do 
not reach the ground, but are used to fix 
the plant to the surface on which it grows, 
and they absorb moisture from the air. 
These plants grow on trunks of other 
plants. 

"There is still another class, called 
parasite plants. Their roots grow in the 
tissue of other plants, or attach themselves 
to their surface so as to prey on their 
juices. The mistletoe belongs to this class 
of plants. The seed falls on the boughs and 
germinates there. The roots penetrate the 
bark and engraft themselves into the wood. 
They become as firmly united to the bark 
as a natural branch to its parent stem. 
Indeed, the parasite lives just as if it was 
a branch of the tree on which it grows and 
feeds. A common parasite herb is the 
dodder, which abounds in low grounds in 
summer. It coils its long, slender, leafless, 
yellow stems around the stalks of other 
plants. Wherever they touch they pierce 
the bark with minute short rootlets, which 
grow in the form of suckers. They draw 
out the nourishing juices of the plants on 



I^ELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 49^ 

which they lay hold. Other parasite plants,, 
are the beech-drops and pine-sap. They 
fasten their roots under ground on the roots 
of neighboring plants and rob them of their 
juices. Some plants are only partly para- 
sitic. While most of their roots act in the 
ordinary way, others make suckers at their 
tips which grow fast to the roots of other 
plants and rob them of their nourishment. 
Now, Melba, there are three facts that I 
want you to get from your study on roots.. 
Can you tell me what they are?" 

''Well, I must remember that the root 
fixes the plant to the soil, and that it absorbs 
moisture from the soil that enters the plant 
and is changed into vegetable matter on 
which it feeds and grows." 

"Yes, and the roots become a store-house 
of food for both the animal world and man- 
kind. Can you name some roots that are- 
used for food?" 

"Yes, the radish, carrot, turnip, beet^ 
potato, parsnip, onion, horse-radish, tapioca, 
arrow-root and the root of the ginger plant.*' 

"Yes, and the root of rhubarb plant, the 
ipecac and the sarsaparilla are used for 
medicine, and the root of the madder plant 
for coloring. The lesson is over now^ 
Our next talk will be on stems. 



50 MELBA'S PLA^■T LESSONS 



TALK OX STEMS. 

*'The stem is the part of the plant, Melha, 
that bears all the other org-ans. It is the 
axis of the plant. At the very beginning- it 
produces roots. As the root becomes a 
descending axis, so the stem that grows in 
the opposite is called the ascending one." 

"Yes ; I remember that from the lesson 
on the groTi-th of the bean." 

"The stem usually rises out of the soil 
and bears leaves. But there are forms of 
stems that remain underground, or make 
part of their growth there. These under- 
ground stems do not bear leaves and 3'et 
they bear the rudiments of them, or what 
answers for leaves, but they have not the 
lorm of foliage. The stems above the 
ground, through differences in duration, 
texture and size, form herbs, shrubs and 
trees. Those that die down to the ground, 
at the end of the growing season, as the 
clover, the mustard and common weeds, are 
herbs, or herbaceaus plants. When they are 
slightly woody below and survive from 
year to year, they are said to be suffrute- 
scent. But if the lower stems are decidedly 
woody, though herbaceaus above, they are 
initescent 

"Those that are woodv and of consider- 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 51 

able size and live from year to year are 
shrubs. When they are tree-like in appear- 
ance or mode of growth, or when they 
approach a tree in size, they are called 
arboreous. You must keep in mind the 
difference in growth and it will not be hard 
to remember the new names. 

"Stems are also named according to the 
direction they take in growing. When 
loosely spreading in all directions, as they 
do in the branches of the syringa, they are 
called diffuse. When they turn or bend 
over to one side, like the stems of the 
weeping willow, they are called declining or 
drooping stems. When they recline on the 
ground as if too weak to stand, like the 
stems of the twin flower, they are called 
decumbent. When they lie flat on the 
ground from the first, as the stems of the 
garden nasturtium, they are called prostrate 
stems. When they are prostrate on, or just 
beneath the ground, striking root as they 
they grow along, as the stems of the white 
clover and the partridge-berry, they are 
called creeping stems. When they ascend 
by climbing to other objects for support, 
whether by tendrils, as in the pea, grape- 
vine, passion flower and Virginia creeper, 
or by their twisting leaf-stalks, as the 
Virgin's bower, or by rootlets like the ivy, 
poison ivy and the trumpet creeper, they 
are called climbing stems. When they coil 



52 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

spirally around others stems or supports, 
like the morning- glory and the hop, they 
are called twining stems. 

''But the vast majority of plants, Melba, 
have their stems erect. They elevate the 
leaves and flowers in the most favorable 
position for receiving the influence of the 
light and air. We will not talk any more 
now, dear." 

"Does that finish the subject. Miss 
Williams?" 

''No, Melba, we will have to study the 
kinds of stems and their special uses yet. 
But this is all now." 



THE TALK ON STEMS CONTINUED. 

"There are certain kinds of stems or 
branches that have special uses and are 
named accordingly. Such as the stems of 
grasses, are called a culm. A branch that 
rises from an underground stem, is called 
a sucker. Stems of that kind are produced 
abundantly by the rose, the raspberry, and 
other plants that are said to multiply by 
the root. But if we uncover them we see 
at once the great difference there is between 
them and real roots. They are creeping- 
underground branches. 



MiELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 5S 

*'The shoots, or plants that grow from 
those underground branches, become sep- 
arate plants. The connecting stems either 
die off, or the gardener cuts them in two 
with his spade. That is the way he 
propagates or produces new plants." 

'T never thought of that. I thought all 
plants came, as the bean plant does, from 
the seed." 

"YeS; Melba, you would naturally think 
so until you learned differently. Other 
plants are produced by Stolons. They are 
branches that grow above the ground, but 
recline or become prostrate and take root 
where they rest on the soil. Thence they 
send off shoots, with roots of their own, that 
become independent plants after the con- 
necting stems die, which they do, after 
a while. The current and goose-berry 
multiply that way. An off-set is a short 
stolon, or sucker, that has a crown of leaves 
at the end. The house-leek propagates 
abundantly that way. 

"A runner is a long, slender, tendril-like 
stolon that is destitute of conspicuous 
leaves. The strawberry presents the most 
familiar example of it. After the runner 
has grown to its full length, it strikes root 
from the tip, which fixes it to the ground 
and forms a bud there. The bud develops 
into a tuft of leaves and so gives rise to a 
new plant which, of course, sends out 



54 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

runners that act in the same way. In this 
manner, a single strawberry plant will 
spread over a large space, and in course of 
a growing season, produce a great number 
of plants, all of which were connected at 
first by slender runners that died after a 
while, leaving the plants as so many separate 
individuals." 

"I am so glad to learn this. Miss Williams, 
for I can see our own strawberry patch 
increasing each year, but I supposed the 
plants grew from the seed." 

"Tendrils are also branches, but of a very 
slender sort. They are like runners, but are 
not intended for propagation. They are 
only for climbing and are therefore destitute 
of buds or leaves. There are two kinds 
of tendrils — simple and compound. The 
passion-flower has simple tendrils. Com- 
pound or branching tendrils are borne by 
the cucumber-vine, the pumpkin-vine, the 
grape-vine and the Virginia creeper. A 
tendril generally grows straight until it 
reaches some support, then its apex hooks 
around it and takes hold. The whole 
tendril finally shortens itself by coiling up 
spirally and so draws the shoot of the 
growing plant nearer to the supporting 
object." 

"What are tendrils, Miss Williams? Are 
they leaves?" 

"Yes, some are leaves and some are only 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 55 

parts of leaves. Those of the pea are 
leaves, while those of the ivy and the poison 
ivy are aerial rootlets. They are adapted 
to climbing roofs, walls, or tree trunks, to 
which ordinary tendrils are unable to cling. 
The nature of the tendril is known by the 
position it has on the plant. If it grows 
from the axil of a leaf, like that of the 
passion-flower, it is a stem or branch. And 
so it is, if it terminates a stem, as in the 
grape-vine. There are also stunted, or 
hardened stems called thorns, or spines.'^ 
"Yes, I see them on the trees.*' 
''What kind of trees were they, dear?'^ 
"Papa said they are honey-locust trees. 
Then I saw them on some blackberry and 
rose bushes." 

"Oh, no dear, those on the blackberry and 
rose bushes are not leaves or branches, they 
are only an out-growth of the bark. Now 
remember, dear, they are not thorns." 

THE TALK ON STEMS CONTINUED. 

"We will now look at the underground 
stems, Melba. They are both numerous 
and various. They are commonly over- 
looked or else confounded with roots. That 
is because they are out of sight. But even 



56 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

though they are, they will repay examina- 
tion. The vegetation that is carried on 
underground is as varied and important as 
that above the ground. There are many 
forms, but they can all be referred to four 
principal kinds. The root-stalk or rhiyoma, 
the tuber, the corm or solid bulb, and the 
true bulb. 

''The root-stock, or rhiyoma, is merely a 
creeping stem or branch growing beneath 
the surface of the soil, or partly covered by 
it. Of this kind, are the so-called creeping, 
running or scally roots. It is this kind of 
root by which a class of plants called the 
mint, the quick-grass and many others 
spread so rapidly. That these are really 
stems and not roots, is shown by their 
growth. They consist of a succession 
of joints, and bear leaves on their nodes in 
the form of small scales, just like the ones 
that grow on the upright stems above the 
ground. They also produce buds in the 
axils of those scales, that shows con- 
clusively that the scales are real leaves; 
roots, you know, do not bear leaves or 
axillary buds. Although these stems are 
placed in the dark, damp soil, they naturally 
produce roots, just as the creeping stem 
does when it lies on the surface of the 
ground. 

"Plants with these running shoot-stalks, 
Melba, take rapid possession of the soil. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 57 

They are always perennial plants. The 
underground shoots live over the first 
winter, and are provided with vigorous buds 
at every joint. Some of these buds grow in 
the spring into upright stems, bear foliage, 
and at length produce seed, while others 
form a new generation of underground 
shoots. This, of course, is repeated over 
and over again in the course of a season, 
or in succeeding years. As the underground 
shoots increase in number, the older ones 
that connect the successive growths, die off 
year by year, liberating the rooted side 
branches into so many separate plants. 

"And so on they grow indefinitely. 
Cutting these running root-stalks into 
pieces only multiplies them, for each piece 
is already a plant-let with its roots and 
a bud in the axil of its scale-like leaf, with 
prepared nourishment enough to develop 
into a leafy stem. When the underground 
parts are only roots, if you cut away the 
stem, it completely destroys the plant. 
Root-stocks are usually thickened by storing 
up of nourishing matter in their tissues. 

*'The common garden iris has stout root- 
stocks which are only partly covered by 
the soil and which bears foliage leaves in- 
stead of mere scales. These leaves cover 
the upper part, while the lower produces 
roots. As the leaves die year by year, a 
scar is left in the form of a ring to mark 



58 ilELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 

the spot where the leaf was attached. Some 
root-stocks are marked with large round 
scars of a different sort. There is one 
specimen of that kind called the Solomon's 
seal." 

"Why do you suppose they gave it that 
name, Miss Williams?" 

"Because the scar resembles the impres- 
sion of a seal on wax. In the spring, the 
root-stalk sends up a herbaceaus stalk or 
stem that bears foliage and flowers, but they 
die in autumn. The seal is the circular scar 
left by the death and separation of the 
base of the stalk from the living root-stalk. 
As there is only one of these seals, or scars, 
formed each year, they mark the number 
of years it has produced stalks. Here is the 
root-stalk. Look at the scar. That bud 
that you see at the end of it, will grow next 
spring into the new stalk of the season and 
will die in the fall and leave a similar scar. 
As each year's growth of stem makes its 
own roots, it soon becomes independent of 
the older parts. After ? certain age, a 
portion dies off behind, about as fast as it 
increases at the growing end, death follow- 
ing life with an equal certain step." 

"Miss Williams, I think this is a beautiful 
lesson. I have learned so much." 

"Are you tired now, dear?" 

"Oh, no ! I feel like I could listen a much 
longer time today." 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 59 

"Yes, but I think we had better stop and 
take up the subject again. 

ROOT STALKS. 

''We shall continue our talk today, Melba. 
You remember we were on root-stalks, talk- 
ing about the Solomon's seal. In vigorous 
plants, of the Solomon's seal, or iris, the 
living root-stalk is several inches or a foot 
in length. But in the short root-stalk of 
the trillium or birth-root, life is reduced to 
a narrow span. Here is a specimen of the 
trillium. When the root-stalk is short like 
this, it is called a caudex. When it is more 
shortened and thickened, it becomes a 
corm. A tuber is a part of a root-stalk 
thickened, and has buds or eyes on the sides. 
The Jerusalem artichoke, and the common 
potato are familiar examples of the tuber. 
Here, Melba, is a potato plant. See, the 
stalks by which the tubers are attached to 
the parent stem are different from the roots, 
both in appearance and in manner of 
growth. These scales on the tubers are 
rudiments of leaves and the eyes are the 
buds in their axils. The plant has three 
forms of branches. These that bear the 
ordinary leaves are expanded in the air. 



60 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

They digest what they gather from it and 
also what the roots gather from the soil, 
and convert it all into nourishment. After 
a while this second set of branches that you 
see on the summit of the plants bear 
flowers which form fruit and seed out of a 
portion of this nourishment that the leaves 
have prepared, but a large part of the nour- 
ishment, while in a liquid state, is carried 
down the stems into the branches that grow 
under the ground. It accumulates there in 
the form of starch, at their extremities, and 
becomes tubers or depositories of prepared 
solid food. It is also true in the turnip, the 
carrot and the dahlia. The use of this store- 
house can be plainly seen. In the fall the 
plant dies, but the seed and tubers live, 
although they are left disconnected in the 
ground. 

*'You learned, Melba, how a small por- 
tion of nourishment matter deposited in the 
seed feeds the embryo, when it is germin- 
ating, so the much larger portion, deposited 
in the tuber, nourishes its buds, or eyes, 
when they grow into new plants. The great 
supply of nourishment enables them to grow 
with great vigor and produce a great amount 
of vegetation which in turn prepares and 
stores up in the course of a few weeks, a 
large quantity of solid nourishing material. 
Man has taken advantage of it and the 



]\JIELBA'S PLA^^T LESSONS 61 

potato is cultivated in almost every country 
for food. 

"The corm or solid bulb is a very short, 
thick, fleshy, underground stem, often 
broader than it is high. Look at these. 
This is the corm of the Indian turnip, and 
this of the cyclamen. See the corm of the 
Indian turnip sends roots from its lower 
end and leaves and root-stalks from its 
upper. The corm of the cyclamen goes on 
and becomes more enlarged and produces a 
succession of flowers and leaves year after 
year. But the corm of the Indian turnip 
that is formed one year is consumed the 
next. 

''Look at this corm, Melba. It is also the 
Indian turnip. This stage of its growth 
shows its development in the early part of 
the growing season. This naked part below 
here is the corm of last year, from which 
the root-stalks have fallen. It is partly 
consumed by the growth of the stems for 
the season. You can see the corm of the 
year, forming at the base of the stem above 
the line of roots. 

"Here is the corm of the crocus. It is 
also reproduced annually, the new ones 
forming on the summit and sides of the old 
one. Let's look at the bulb. You see it is 
a stem just like a reduced corm. These 
thickened scales of which the body consists 
are leaves, or leaf bases. The bulb is a bud 



62 MELBA'S PLA^s^T LESSONS 

with fleshy scales on an exceedingly short 
stem. 

"This is the bulb of the white lilly. Com- 
pare it with these strong, scaly buds of the 
hickory and horse-chestnut and you will 
readily see the resemblance." 

"Look at these; what are they, Miss 
Williams?" 

'They are bulblets. See, they are ver>^ 
small bulbs that grew out of larger ones. 
They never grow into branches, but detach 
themselves when they are full grown, fall 
to the ground and take root there, to form 
new plants. 

"Now we will talk on the shape of stems. 
All stems are not alike in shape. Some are 
four-angled, some fluted, some round, some 
three-sided, some acute angled, some five- 
sided, some square, some half round, and 
some compressed. There is also a differ- 
ence in the color of the stem. The peach tree 
has red stems, the cherry, purple, the 
willow, yellow, some are spotted, some 
brown, some striped and some green. Som.e 
are smooth, some rough, some shiny, some 
dull, some hairy and some marked with 
dots. There is a difference in the taste and 
odor of the bark of the stems. The spice 
bush has a strong, fragrant odor and the 
papaw a fetid one, the sweet-birch an 
aromatic taste, and the peach a bitter one. 
The walnut has a strong scented, resinous. 



MOELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 63 

aromatic bark and the slippery elm a 
mucilaginous one. Besides, you know, 
Melba, we use the following stems for food : 
The celery plant, the rhubarb, or pie-plant, 
the asparagus and the stem of the sago. 
The stems of the hemp plant and flax plant 
are used for manufacturing purposes, the 
branches and trunks of the logwood are used 
for coloring. 

"Well, Melba, our long talk is over. We 
have tried to touch all the points that you 
wil need if you go on with the study of 
plants. The facts brought out you will have 
to know." 

"What will we take next?" 

"We will take up leaves." 

"I know I shall like that." 

"Yes, but you will find it long and some- 
what tiresome maybe, but after awhile you 
will be glad you had the patience to go on." 

"I am going to look for the things men- 
tioned on stems, among the plants." 

"Well, you do, and as you find them, 
make a note of them and bring your notes 
to class with you." 



64 JVIELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 



LEAVES. 

Some time after the last talk, as Melba 
entered the class room, she exclaimed: 
''What a pile of leaves !" 

"Yes," said her teacher. "We have quite 
a number. We are to begin our leaf talk 
today. We must learn a great many things 
about them, and therefore we will need 
plenty of them to look at and examine. 
Leaves play a very important part in the 
life of the plant, and you must know what 
it is before you can understand their func- 
tion. They are the lungs of the plant. x\ll 
the water taken in by the roots has to pass 
through the stems to the leaves, to be acted 
on by the air before it becomes vegetable- 
matter, and is fit to be used for the growth 
of the plant. 

"There is something very beautiful about 
leaves that one would never notice were 
their attention not called to it. But the 
most important fact is, they exhibit an 
almost endless variety of form, and are class- 
ified and named according to their shapes, 
which is a great help in describing the 
plants on which they grow. Leaves, Melba, 
are so common that we seldom ever stop to 
consider their wonderful structure, perfect 



MiELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 65 

arrangements, or great usefulness. But we 
should observe and study to know them^ 
both by their shapes and names. 



THE PARTS OF THE LEAF. 

"A leaf with all its parts complete, has a 
blade, a petiole and a pair of stipules. This, 
Melba, is a leaf from the quince tree. Let 
us examine it. The flattened green part is 
the blade. This leaf stem is the petiole. 
These little leaves at the end of the petiole 
are the stipules. The top, or free end, as we 
say, is the apex. The lower, or attached 
end, is the base. The edge of the leaf is the 
margin, and the outside of the leaf is the 
surface. Some leaves haven't all the parts.'* 



THE COMPOSITION OF THE LEAF. 

''Leaves are composed of two kinds of 
material, woody fiber, and cellular tissue. 
The wood, or fibrous part, makes a frame- 
work of ribs and veins which gives the leaf 
more strength and toughness than it would 
otherwise have. The cellular tissue forms 
the green pulp of the leaf. It is spread over 
the frame-work both above and below and 
is supported by it. The whole is protected 



66 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 

by a transparent skin called the epidermis. 
The stoutest pieces of the frame-work 
which begins at the petiole and reaches 
across the blade are called ribs. When there 
is but one, as in this quince leaf, it is called 
a mid-rib. The branches of the mid-rib are 
called veins, and the branches of the veins 
are called veinlets. Look on your leaf and 
find them for me. That's right. Now, 
Melba, that finishes the talk for today. We 
will go on and finish up our talk on veins." 

CONTINUATION OF TALK ON 
LEAVES. 

"It is nature study today, Melba." 
"Oh! Yes! Must I bring some leaves?" 
"No never mind, for you don't know the 

kind of leaves to bring out what I want to 

teach today. 

"Leaves are named according to their 

veins. When a leaf has a mid-rib that gives 

off veins right and left, making it look like 

a feather, it is called a feather-veined leaf. 

See if you can find one among the leaves. 

Do you know what kind of tree that leaf 

came from?" 

"No, Miss Williams, I do not." 

''It is the leaf from the peach tree. Find 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 67 

Other feather-veined leaves for me and I 
will name them for you. That is the lilac 
leaf, the elm leaf, the oleander leaf, the 
holly leaf, the quince leaf, and the weeping- 
willow leaf, and the leaf from the tulip tree. 
Put your peach leaf with them and your list 
will be complete. This, Melba, is a maple 
leaf." 

''Yes, I knew that leaf. Miss Williams, 
because I see them all the time on the maple 
trees." 

"When several veins pass across the blade 
in a spreading fashion as they do in the 
maple leaf, it is called palmate-veined. 
Whoever named that leaf, must have thought 
the ribs looked like the spread-out fingers 
branching from the palm of the hand. 

"Find the palmate-veined leaves in this 
pile. This is right, it is the leaf from the 
scarlet geranum, the grape leaf, the English 
ivy, and the radish leaf. Put them together. 
Do you see any other leaves with veins that 
differ from the ones you have had?" 

''Yes, here are the leaves from the grass." 

"Yes, this is the yellow-lily and these are 
rose leaflets. You see their veins run side 
by side from the base of the leaf to the 
point of the blade. For that reason they 
are called parallel-veined leaves. That fin- 
ishes our lesson for today." 

"What will we take next time, Miss 
Williams." 



68 3£EI^A"S PL^XT LSSSOIfS 

*We will :i--:t s r.pie and compomid 
leaves." 

*! don't know what those wcris mtaii," 

"Mo, bnt you will when you have had 
the lesson. You must go now. Your mama 
wants you to go with her this afternoon. 
Good-bye.'' 

Melba enjoyed her trip with her r_-.im 
and Mrs. Andrews was surprisec : : s 1 1 : . : 
well her little girl had been insr : . : : t : ir.i 
the amount of real information 5 h e : i : : . : : 
only on plants, but the other si-iits : i: 
she was pursuing as ivell. 

THE TALK ON LEAVES CONTINUED. 

''We w^ere to take up simple and com- 
pur. 1 'rives today. Leaves, Melba, are 

e ::.tr 5 ::::■. cle or compound. They are 
sir:.; r rtr. :he blade is all of one piece 
Er. : : : ::.; : : :: : vrlien made of a number of 
s : . : r 1 -. r : 5 T i r. y u show me a simple 

Vrs 1.. :r. :5r leaves ure had before 

irt si:" pie.'' a 

Ltz they are, but I would like you to 
r. .. rr. z . .-em. 

I .. tbe lilac, the elm. :: f rrirh t!ie 
Ai: it: : he holly, the quince he ee: rp- 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 69 

willow, the tulip tree, scarlet geranium, 
English ivy, radish, grass and lily leaves, 
are simple." 

'That is good. Now, Melba, pick out the 
compound leaves and I will name them for 
you. The rose, ailanthus, wistaria, clover, 
American ivy, the horse-chestnut and the 
locust. You see that some compound leaves 
contain more leaflets than others. The rose 
has from three to seven, the ailanthus from 
twenty-one to forty-one; the wistaria 
eleven, the clover three, and the horse- 
chestnut seven. Some leaves have as many 
as eighty-one. 

''Leaves are also designated by their apex, 
base, surface, petiole, blade, stipules, vena- 
tion, margin and shape. I will describe 
these leaves for you, Melba. On account of 
their likeness in shape to other objects, they 
are given the name of that object. Now I 
am going to begin and you look and listen. 

"This is the lilac leaf. . It has a sharp 
apex, a heart-shaped base, smooth surface, 
long petole, simple blade, no stiplues, 
feather-veined, entire margin and is heart- 
shaped. Now take each of the leaves that 
are on the desk, iMelba, and go through with 
them as I did with the lilac leaf, and when 
you come to the place that you can't go on, 
I will help you." 

"This is the elm leaf. It has a tapering 
apex, slanting base, rough surface, short 



70 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

petiole, simple blade, small stipules 
feather-veined, a double-toothed margin and 
is egg-shaped." 

'''That is good. Go on." 

"The peach leaf has a tapering apex, 
rounded base, smooth surface, short petiole, 
simple blade, no stipules, feather-A'eined, 
saAv-tooth margin and is lance-shaped. 

"The oleander leaf has a tapering apex, 
tapering base, a glassy or leather surface, 
no petiole, simple blade, is feather-veined, 
has a waw margin and is oval in shape. 

'The quince leaf has a sharp apex, sharp 
base, smooth surface, short petiole, simple 
blade, free stipules, is feather-veined, entire 
margin and is oval in shape. 

"The leaf of the weeping-willow has a 
sharp apex sharp base, short petiole, smooth 
surface, simple blade, free stipules, feather- 
veined, finely toothed margin, and is narrow 
lance-shaped. 

"The leaf of the tulip tree has a cut-of? 
apex, heart-shaped base, smooth surface, 
long petiole, simple blade, no stipules, is 
feather-veined, two-lobed margin and is 
lobed-shaped, 

"The leaf of the grape has a sharp apex, 
heart-shaped base, woolly surface, long 
petiole, simple bade, no stipues, palmate- 
veined, lobed margin, and is lobed-shaped. 

"The leaf of the scarlet geranium has a 
round apex, kidney-shaped base, hairy. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 71 

sticky surface, long petiole, simple blade, 
no stipules, palmate-veined, doubled scal- 
loped margin, and is kidney-shaped. 

''The leaf of the English ivy has a sharp 
base, smooth, leathery surface, long petiole, 
simple blade, no stipules, palmate-veined, 
five-lobed margin, and is lobed-shaped. 

''The leaf of the radish has a large, round 
apex, tapering base, rough surface, short 
petiole, simple blade, no stipules, is palm- 
ate-veined, lobed margin, and is lyre-shaped. 

"The leaf of the grass has a sharp apex, 
sheathed base, smooth surface, no petiole, 
a simple blade, a scale-like stipule, is par- 
allel-veined, entire margin and is sword- 
shaped. 

"The leaf of the rose has a sharp apex, 
round base, smooth surface, very short 
petiole, simple blade, no stipules, feather- 
veined, saw-toothed margin, and is egg- 
shaped." 

"That is very good, indeed." 

"Yes, but you see you had to help me.'^ 

"Why of course I did at first, but you 
can describe them by yourself now." 

"Yes, I am sure I can." 

"Well, you may go now. The lesson is 



72 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 



COMPOUXD LEAVES. 

"What are we to have todav, ]\Iiss 
Williams." 

"Some more work on leaves ; we are not 
through yet. \\'e are to describe the com- 
pound leaves. Can vou do it?" 

"I can tr>'." 

"Well, I w411 help you. Take the ailanthus 
leaf. The ailanthus leaf is unequally 
feather-veined and has no stipules. That 
is the rachis, Melba, and the stem of the 
leaflet is the petiolule. The rachis of this 
leaf is long. It has petiolules and twenty- 
one leaflets. Take this one, Melba. This 
is the leaf of the rose. It is unequally 
feather-veined, the stipules are united to the 
rachis, the rachis is long, the petiolules are 
short, and the leaflets seven in number. 

"Here are four other compound leaves/' 

"Must I describe them all?" 

"Yes, Melba, for they are not alike, and 
I want you to see where they differ. Take 
this one." 

"It is the leaf of the wistaria. It is 
unequally feather-veined, has no stipules, 
has a long rachis, verj^ short petiolules and 
eleven leaflets. 

"This is the clover leaf. It is three- 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 73 

fingered, there are no stipules, no rachis, 
very short petiolules, and three leaflets. 

''This is the leaf of the American ivy. It 
is five-fingered, has no stipules, no rachis, 
no petiolules, and but five leaflets. 

"The leaf of the horse-chestnut is seven- 
fingered, has no stipules, no rachis, no 
petiolules and seven leaflets. 

"That finishes the leaves. Miss Williams." 

"Yes, and it is well done. This also 
finishes that part of the leaf subject. Our 
next talk will be on special leaves and their 
function. You may go now, dear. I am 
going riding." 

"Must I bring some leaves?" 

"Yes, you can. If you notice, Melba, the 
leaves are beginning to turn. Bring some 
bright-colored ones and we will decorate 
the school room with them." 



SPECIAL LEAVES. 

"Today we are going to give attention to 
the special leaves. A leaf may be so formed 
as to serve both an ordinary and a special 
use. We will first notice the leaves of 
storage. We will take the leaf of the com- 
mon white lily, which springs from the 
bulb. It serves two purposes. The upper 



74 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

green part serves for foliage and to 
elaborate nourishment, while the thickened 
portion, or bud scales beneath, serves for 
the storage of the nourishment. The thread- 
shaped leaf of the onion fulfils the same 
office. The nourishing matter it prepares 
is deposited in its sheathing base, and forms 
one of the layers of the onion. When those 
layers that are for a time so thick and suc- 
culent, have given up their store to the 
growing parts within they are left thin and 
dry. In the house-leek, the green color of 
the surface of the fleshy leaf indicates that 
it is doing the work of foliage, while the 
white portions, within, are the storehouse 
of nourishment which the green surface has 
elaborated. 

"Seed leaves, or cotyledons, are also com- 
monly used for storage. Those of the 
maple, the pea, the horse-chestnut and the 
oak are used for nothing else. In the beech 
and bean as you have learned, they are also 
principally used for storage. But in the 
pumpkin and the flax, the seed leaves serve 
for storage and then develop into the first 
foliage leaves. But after having fulfilled 
this purpose, and after the shoots develop 
and the foliage leaves appear, they fall off. 

''Let^s examine this spray from the low 
sweet buckeye. We can plainly see that it is 
a . series of bud scales and foliage leaves. 
They have grown from a developing bud. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 75 

which shows nearly a complete gradation 
from a scale to a compound leaf of five leaf- 
lets. The scales also answer to reduced 
petioles. The lilac also shows a gradation 
from the bud-scale to simple leaf. In the 
flowering dogwood, the four bud-scales 
which through the winter protected the 
head of a forming flower, remains until 
blossoming, then the base of each grows 
out, into a large and very showy petal-like 
leaf. But the original dry scale is apparent 
in the notch at the apex. 

"Leaves as spines occur in several plants. 
A familiar instance is that of the common 
barberry. In almost any of summer shoots 
most of the gradations may be seen between 
the ordinary leaves with sharp, bristly teeth 
and the leaves that are reduced to a branch- 
ing spine or thorn." 

''How do they know they are leaves, Miss 
WilHams?" 

'Trom the fact that they produce a leaf- 
bud in their axil. 

"Leaves for climbing also vary in their 
adaptation. It is only true foliage leaves 
that serve this purpose. In the plant, 
gloriosa, the tip of a simple leaf hooks around 
a supporting object. In the solanum, jas- 
minoides of our own garden, and in the 
plant called maurandia, the leaf-stalk coils 
around and clings to a support. 

"In some compound leaves, as the pea and 



76 . :melba's plaxt lessoxs 

most vetches, the lower leaflets sen*e fcr 
foliage, while some of the upper ones 
develop tendrils for climbing. Some plants 
have pitcher-shaped leaves. The pitchers 
are generally half full of water, in which 
flies and other insects are drowned." 

'*'A\'hat becomes of them after they die in 
the pitcher?" 

"They decay and enrich the plant. There 
are other plants of the same family whose 
leaves are especially sdapted to the capture 
and destruction ::' f.ies and other insects. I 
brought the leaf of the napenthes for you 
to examine, Melba. It is constructed so as 
to combine three uses. This expanded part 
below is foliage. You see it tapers into a 
tendril for climbing. The tendril bears a 
pitcher. Insects are caught and d'gested in 
the pitcher.'"' 

*''AVhy the plant has life almost like an 
animal, hasn't it?"' 

'•Yes, there is a xtxy close connection be- 
tween plant and animal life, when we reach 
the lowest form of animals, but plants are 
always fixed to the ground. Xow this is 
a plant called the \'enus-fly-trap, which 
grows in the sandy bogs of the South. Its 
leaf also catches insects. It is the most 
extraordinary plant in this country. Each 
leaf bears at its summit an appendage, 
as you see, the shape of a steel trap, and 
operates much like one that opens and shuts. 



M'ELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 77 

When it is open, if a fly alights on its sur- 
face and touches one of these bristles that 
grow here, the trap suddenly closes and 
captures the intruder. It is then softened 
by a substance from a set of little glands 
that are on the inner surface and is 
digested." 

"I am so glad to see this plant, Miss 
Williams, and have a description of it." 

"Yes, it is indeed a curiosity. It is a 
member of the sundew family of plants. In 
other members of the same family, insects 
are caught by sticking fast to very viscid 
glands, situated at the tip of strong bristles. 
They are aided by other gland-tipped 
bristles that bend slowly together and 
secure the captive. 

"Well, we have talked enough now and 
you must be excused." 

"Oh ! Miss Williams, I like this lesson on 
leaves so much." 

"Yes, it is an interesting subject." 

"What Avill we take next time?" 

"We will finish up our talk on stipules 
and then we will leave the subject." 



LEAVES CONTINUED. 

"We will finish our talk on leaves today, 
Melba. The parts of a leaf is the blade, the 
petiole and a pair of stipules. But most 



78 jNIELBA'S plant LESSONS 

leaves have only minute stipules or none at 
all. Many have no petiole, the blade being 
cessile or stalkless. Some have no clear 
distinction between blade and petiole, and 
many of them, such as the leaves of the 
onion and the leaf-like bodies of the acacia 
plant, consists of petiole only. 

"The base of the petiole is often broad 
and flat, and sometimes they are only thin 
margins. Again they are simple sheaths 
which embrace the stem at the po'nt of 
attachment. Stipules are appendages that 
are wholly or partly separated from the 
petiole. When they are separate they are 
said to be free, as they are in the quince 
leaf. But when they are attached to the 
base of the petiole, as in the rose and clover 
they are adnate. When the two st'pules 
unite and sheath the stem above the inser- 
tion, the sheath is called an acrea. In 
grasses, when the sheathing base of a leaf 
answers to a petiole and the summit of the 
sheath projects as a thin, short membrane. 
it is called a bigula. 

"When the stipules are green and leaf- 
like, they act as foliage. In the pea they 
make a large part of the foliage and in the 
sweet-pea they make the whole of it, the 
remainder being a tendr'l. In many trees 
the stipules are the bud-scales. They are 
in the beech, the fig tree, tulip tree and 
magnolia. They fall off as the leaves unfold. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 79 

The spines or prickles in the locust and 
other pod-bearing trees and shrubs, are 
stipules. In the smilax or green-brier they 
are tendrils. 

'*We have now finished our talk on leaves, 
Melba, and you have learned a great many 
things about them. They are not only 
indispensable to the plant on which they 
grow, but are very useful in other ways. 
Many of them are used for food. Can you 
name some of those that are, Melba?" 

''Yes, I think I can. The leaves from the 
cabbage plant, the lettuce, the spinach, beet- 
tops and mustard." 

"Yes, and there are a great many plants 
that grow wild in some localities. Whose 
leaves are used for greens and salad. We 
also use the leaves from the tea, the sage, 
the thyme, the dock, the parsley, the water- 
cress and the mint. The leaves of the mul- 
berry are used to feed the silkworm, those 
of the indigo plant for coloring and those 
of the senna plant for medicine. Leaves are 
also used by insects, worms, birds and ani- 
mals for food, homes, shelter and shade. 
They not only serve their purpose as lungs 
of the plant, but they also adorn and 
decorate the plants. The leaves work very 
hard from the time they appear until 
autumn comes, then they are ready for a 
holiday. The mama plant tells them when 
it is time for them to leave their work, and 



80 MELZa'S PLaVT LZSS'I'XS 

Mother Nature : :5 :: e" u: i: rei :i:u! 
colors. Some •:: -:.tr-:. ::-r:uih :r.t -ti: ^:. 1 
dust of the summer have be: —r . us:;. 
dusty and soiled, but Mother 2>aL.:rr i:es 
not allow them to go that way. She i; es 
them a new bright color, so tha: :he . : :k 
like new leaves. They they sa.; ^::>:ye 
to the mama tree, or plant, ar. 1 ^: ::r i 
visit to the seeds and plants or. :he ^r:ur. 1 
below. Ja<i Frost turns them ::: r. and 
then they go to sleep." 

''What becomes of them then. Miss 
Williams?" 

"They decay and by the action of the 
wind, water and air, they are changed into 
soil." 

"L h, yes. I see! They e: i:-: to earth 
agair. :: :e z'r.i-r.Zzi :r.:- vegetable matter 

" _ -i: IS :rue. Me.: a. I see you have the 
right aca. 

"W^Tiat time do the leaves usually leave 
the trees?" 

'That depends upon the locality and 
climate, but in the ten:perate clir^ate. they 
fall in October. 

"Here are some verses, ^lelba. I want 



you to commit their 


t- r".emorv." 


"Did you compose 


:herr. Miss Williams?" 


"Oh! no dear. I 


: : r. : k r. : ^^ who the 


author of them is, : 


:: :r ry a.e pretty and 


sceak cf the leaves 


fakir g from the trees. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 81 

"October gave a party, 

The Leaves by hundreds came, 
The Ashes, Oaks and Maples 
And those of every name. 

"The Sunshine spread a carpet, 
And everything was grand. 
Miss Weather led the dances. 
Professor Wind the band. 

"The Chestnuts came in yellow. 
The Oaks in crimson dressed. 
The Lovely Misses Maple 
In scarlet looked their best. 

"All balanced to their partners, 
And gaily fluttered by ; 
The sight was like a rainbow, 
New fallen from the sky. 

"Then, in the rustic billows, 

At hide and seek they played; 
The party closed at sundown. 
And every body stayed. 

"Professor Wind played louder, 
They flew along the ground, 
And here the party ended. 
In jolly all hands round.'* 



S2 MELBA-"S PLAXT LESSORS 



THE TALK OX FLOWERS. 

"Well, Melba, we are to begin our talk 
on the flower today. I hope you will be 
interested, for they are the most interesting 
part of the plant." 

"'Oh, yes, I shall be interested, Miss 
Williams, for I admire flowers so much ; 
they are so beautiful. I never get tired of 
having them around and since I have been 
studying plants they seem more beautiful 
than ever." 

''Yes, they are beautiful and we do admire 
their lovely forms and colors, but never 
think of the exquisite arrangement of their 
parts and the wonderful variety they exhibit 
therein. 

''We do not understand the work they 
perform and how wonderfully adapted they 
are to do it. 

"The subject is a very extensive one, but 
w^e will take our time and make it as simple 
as possible. I am sure you will be able to 
grasp it. 

"Flowers, like leaves, have been created 
to serve a purpose. They are for the pro- 
duction of seed only. Stems and branches 
on all kinds of plants, when they put forth 
leaves for vegetation, also put forth flowers 
for reproduction. You learned that leaves 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 83 

and branches are arranged in regular order 
on the stem and are named from their posi- 
tion. So the flowers are also arranged in 
regular order on the plants that bear them. 
That arrangement, Melba, is called their 
inflorescence. Flower buds appear where 
leaf buds do. They are either terminal or 
axillary. Flowers are found to answer to 
shoots, or branches, and their parts to 
leaves." 

''Why, Miss Williams, I never would 
have thought of that !" 

"No, dear, only those who make plant- 
life a study know that to be a fact. But it 
is true. Our talk today will be on the kinds 
of inflorescence. 

"There are two kinds, indeterminate or 
indefinite and determinate. 

*'The indeterminate or indefinite, in- 
florescence is so named because the flowers 
of this class comes from axillary buds only. 
In that case the terminal bud may keep on 
growing and therefore prolong the stem 
indefinitely. Let's examine this spray. It 
is from the stem of the flowering money- 
wort. You see the flowers are single and are 
successfully produced in the axil of the 
leaves from below upward as the stem 
grows on. When flowers grow singly from 
the axils of leaves, they are axillary and 
solitary. That is, they are not collected in 
flower clusters. 



84 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

"When several or many flowers are pro- 
duced near each other, the leaves that grow 
with them are smaller and of a different 
shape and character from the ordma.ry leaf. 
Such leaves are called bracts, and the flowers 
thus brought together, form a flower cluster. 

"The kinds of flower clusters of 
the indeterminate class have been given 
distinct names according to their form and 
disposition. They are the raceme, corymb, 
umbel, spike, head, spadix, catkin and 
panicle." 

'T don't think I can remember those 
names, Miss Williams.'' 

"I think you can after you have had a 
description of the flower cluster, and the 
name becomes associated with the flower," 

"Oh! I see." 

"If a flower has no stalk and sits directly 
in the axil, it is said to be sessile. But if it 
is raised on a naked stalk of its owm, as it is 
in the money-wort spray, it is said to be 
pedunculate, and the stalk is a peduncle. A 
peduncle on which a cluster is raised is 
called a common peduncle, and that which 
supports each separate flower of the cluster 
is a partial peduncle, or pedicel." 

"Well, Miss Williams, I understand that." 

"Oh, yes, Melba, you will not find it hard 
if you are attentive. That portion of the 
general stalk along which the flowers grow, 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 85 

is called the axis of inflorescence, but when 
covered with sessile flowers, it is called the 
rhachis. The leaves of the flower cluster 
are generally termed bracts, but when the 
different orders are distinguished, those on 
the common peduncle that have a flower in 
their axil keep the name of bracts, while 
those on the pedicel are called bractlets. A 
raceme is that form of flower cluster in 
which the flowers, each on its own stalk 
or pedical, are arranged along the side of a 
common stalk. 

"Here are some specimens of the arrange- 
ment. This is the cluster from the Lily 
of the Valley, this is the Currant and this 
the Barberry. You see each flower comes 
from the axil of a small leaf or bract which, 
hov/ever, is so very small that it might 
escape not.'ce. Sometimes they disappear 
altogether, as you see they have in this 
spray from the mustard plant. See, they 
are entirely absent. 

^'Another thing, Melba, you see that the 
lowest blossoms of a raceme are the oldest, 
and therefore they open first. The order of 
blooming is from the bottom to top. The 
summit that is never stopped by a terminal 
flower may grow on, and often does. 
This plant is called the Shepherd's Purse. It 
produces lateral flowers one after another 
for many weeks. 

"A corymb is the same as a raceme, except 



86 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

that it has a broad, flat top. The raceme be- 
comes a corymb by the lengthening of the 
lower pedicels, while the upper ones remain 
shorter. I had a time getting a specimen of 
that arrangement, but I did at last. It is 
a cluster from the hawthorn. Look at it, 
Melba. I think it is a very pretty cluster." 

*'Yes, they are all very beautiful." 

"An umbel is a cluster in which the pedi- 
cels all spring from the same level, like the 
ribs of an umbrella, from which it takes its 
name. The Milkweed plant and the Prim- 
rose bear their flowers in umbels, and the 
pedicels in the umbels are sometimes called 
rays. When the bracts are brought into a 
cluster, or circle, they form what is called 
an involucre. 

"We will stop now, Melba, and you may 
go for your recreation." 

Melba enjoyed her outing, for the winter 
and spring had passed and the flowers were 
all in bloom and she had an opportunity to 
see many of the arrangements she had been 
studying. 



FLOWERS CONTINUED. 
"We are to go on with our nature lesson 
today, dear." 

"What are we to have, Miss Williams?" 
"We are to finish up our talk on indeter- 
minate inflorescence. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 8T 

*'A head is a round cluster of flowers 
which are sessile, on a very short axis. The 
red clover, bachelor's-buttons, the dande- 
lion, thistle and buttom-bush, are good 
examples of the head." 

"I see them all the time. Miss Williams, 
and I will remember that their flowers are 
arranged in heads and will look for others 
that have the same arrangement/' 

*'Yes, you must, dear. The head of the 
Buttom-bush is naked, but the head of the 
Thistle, the Dandelion and any other heads 
like them, are surrounded by empty bracts 
which forms an involucre. A spike is a 
flower cluster, with a more or less length- 
ened axis, along which the flowers grow, 
that are sessile, or nearly so, as they are in 
the Plantain and Mullein blossoms. There 
are two forms of the spike and the head, 
that have received particular names; the 
spadix and the catkin. 

"A spadix is a fleshy spike or head, with 
small and often imperfect flowers, as in the 
callo, the Indian turnip and the sweet flag. 
It is commonly surrounded or embraced by 
a peculiar enveloping leaf called a spathe. 

''A catkin is the name given to the scally 
sort of spike of the birch, the alder, the 
willow, the poplar, and one sort of flower 
cluster of the oak and the hickory. Any of 
the flowers mentioned may have com- 
pound flower clusters. I mean, that there 



88 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

may be racemes clustered in racemes, 
corymbs in corymbs, and umbels in umbels. 
The blossoms from the parsnip, the caraway, 
the parsley, and nearly all the great family 
of umbelliferous plants have that flower 
arrangement. 

"A panicle, is an irregularly branching 
compound flower cluster, of a more or less 
open sort, such as is seen in the blossoms 
of the oats and many grasses. 

"We have now finished the subject of 
indeterminate inflorescence, and when our 
Nature Study hour comes again, we will 
take up the subject of determinate inflores- 
cence. You must go for your ride now, the 
carriage is waiting and some one is calling 
you." 

Oh, it is mama! Good-bye, Miss 
Williams, I wish you were going, too." 

"Well, I will some time, dear." 

Melba enjoyed her ride so much; she 
always did when her mama accompanied 
her. As Melba drove through the forest 
and beheld the beauties of nature, she 
exclaimed: "What a wonderful being, 
Mother Nature is to have so many wonder- 
ful things and to have them in such order. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



DETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE. 

''Determinate Inflorescence is that in 
which the flowers grow from terminal buds, 
Melba. The simplest case, is that of a soli- 
tary terminal flower which stops the growth 
of the stem, for its terminal bud becoming 
a blossom can no more lengthen in the 
manner of a leaf bud. 

"Any further growth must be from 
axillary buds, developing into branches. If 
such branches are leafy shoots, they at 
length terminate by single blossoms, the 
inflorescence still consisting of solitary flow- 
ers at the summit of the stem and branches. 

"But if the flowering branches bear only 
bracts, in place of ordinary leaves, the result 
is the kind of flower cluster called a cyme. 
This is commonly a flat-topped flower 
cluster, like a corymb, only the blossoms are 
from terminal buds. Look at this spray 
from the rose. This is the simplest form 
of that arrangement, or the simplest cyme. 
See, it has opposite leaves and three flowers. 
The middle flower terminates the stem, and 
the two others terminate branches. There 
is one flower from the axil of each of the 
uppermost leaves. They blossom later than 



90 ilELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

the middle one. The flowering, therefore,, 
proceeds from the center outward. That is 
opposite the indeterminate mode, or where 
all the flower buds are axillary. The elder, 
and the hydrangea are examples of this 
arrangement. 

"The third class is the mixed inflorescence. 
In that class the two arrangements that 
have been mentioned are combined or 
mixed. The lilac and the horse-chestnut 
blossoms afford common examples of mixed 
inflorescence. When they are loose and open 
flower clusters, they are called by the gen- 
eral name of panicles." 

"How will I know the difference in the 
inflorescence, Miss Williams?" 

"By closely observing the plants, Melba, 
when they are in bloom, you can see the 
different kinds of inflorescence. We have 
now completed our talk on the arrangement 
of the flowers on the plants. We will next 
take the parts of the flowers. 

"The blossom shows the character of the 
plant and the family to which it belongs. It 
is therefore very necessary to study not only 
the flower and its arrangement on the plant, 
but the parts that compose the flower. We 
must learn those parts that are necessary 
to seed-bearing. They are the essential 
organs, the stamens and pistils." 

"Are they the only organs that the flower 
has?" 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 91 

"Oh, no, but the other organs serve for 
protection or attraction, often for both. Such 
are the leaves of the flowers or the floral 
envelopes. The floral envelopes are the 
outer circle of the flower, called the calyx 
and the inner circle called the corolla. 

"The calyx is commonly a circle of green 
leaves, but not always. It may be the most 
brightly colored part of the blossom. Each 
calyx leaf or piece of the calyx, is called a 
sepal. The corolla is the inner circle of the 
floral envelopes, or flower leaves. Each 
corolla leaf is called a petal. Look at this 
apple blossom; can you show me the calyx? 
That is right, and the corolla? Yes, a sepal 
and a petal. That is prettv good, Melba. 

"There are many flowers that consist 
wholly of floral envelopes. The full double 
flowers of which the choicer roses, peonies, 
dahlias and chrysanthemums are familiar 
examples. In their cultivation the petals 
have taken the place of both stamens and 
pistils. They are large flowers and incap- 
able of producing seed." 

"Oh ! I see." 

"The common name, Melba, of double 
flowers is not a sensible one. It would be 
better to call them full flowers, because they 
are full of leaves. The essential organs of 
the flowers are also of two kinds. They are 
placed one above or within the other. First, 
the stamens or fertilizing organs, and 




92 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 

second, the pistils that are to be fertilized, 
and then to bear the seeds. 

"Here, Melba, is a stamen. You can see 
it consists of two parts : this part is the fila- 
ment or stalk, and this is the anther." 

''Oh, yes, I see." 

"The anther is the only essential part. It 
is a case and usually has two lobes or cells. 
At the proper time they open lengthwise by 
a slit and discharge a powder or dust-like 
substance, usualy of a yellow color. That 
powder is the pollen, or fertilizing matter. 
It is the work of the stamens to produce this 
powder. This is the pistil. It is the body 
in which the seeds are formed. They be- 
long in the center of the flower. This 
enlarged part at the bottom is the ovary, 
which becomes the seed-vessel. This taper- 
ing portion that is prolonged upward into a 
slender stem-like body, is the style. This 
tip at the top of the style is the stigma. 

"This is the flower of the lily, iMelba. I 
took it because all of the parts are on a 
large scale and can be easily seen. Let's 
cut the ovary through. What do vou see, 
dear?" 

"Some young seeds." 

"Yes, these young seeds are called ovules. 
Pull the flower leaves and stamens away. 
What is left?" 

"The end of the flower stalk." 

"Yes, that is the receptacle or stem out of 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 93 

which the organs of the flower grew, or 
on which they are borne. The parts of the 
flower, Melba, are all placed in regular order. 
First, the sepals, or outer flower leaves; 
second, the petals, or inner flower leaves ; 
then the stamens, and last, the pistils. They 
are all the parts of the flower. We will next 
take the plan of flower formation. 

''AH flowers, Melba, are formed on one 
general plan, but with almost infinite varia- 
tion. The common plan can be best under- 
stood, dear, by taking for a type a perfect 
flower. A blossom that is complete, regular 
and symmetrical. I know you do not 
understand any of that now, but you 
will understand it, when it has been ex- 
plained. 

''A perfect flower has both kinds of essen- 
tial organs ; that is both stamens and pistils. 
It is complete when besides the essential 
organs, it has two sets of floral envelopes, 
calyx and corolla; regular, when all the 
parts of each set are alike in shape and size ; 
and symmetrical, when there are any equal 
number of parts in each set or circle of 
organs. 

There is still another flower arrangement 
called the numerical plan. 

"In this there is a certain number that 
runs through the flower or can be seen in 
some of its parts. The number is either 
three or five. The examples of the arrange- 



94 MELBA'S PLANET LESSONS 

ment by threes is found in the trillium, the 
tulip, the lily, the crocus and the iris. The 
example of the arrangement by five is seen 
in the three-leaved stone-crop. In these 
same flowers can be seen the alternation of 
the successive circles. We mean by that 
expression, that in the flowers under the 
numerical plan, the parts of the successive 
circles alternate. In the arrangement, the 
petals stand over the intervals between the 
sepals. When the stamens are of the same 
number they stand over the intervals be- 
tween the petals. But when they are twice 
as many as they are in the trillium, the 
outer set alternates with the petals and the 
inner set stands before the sepals and alter- 
nates with the pistils. This is just as it 
should be, if we are to understand that the 
circle of blossoms answer to whorls of 
leaves, that alternate." 

*'Do they answer to whorl of leaves, Miss 
Williams?" 

''Some who know a great deal more about 
plants than I do, dear, say they do. It -S 
said by these same authorities that floAvers 
are altered branches, and their parts, altered 
leaves. They teach that buds which might 
have grown and lengthened into leafy 
branches, developed into blossoms. In them 
the axis remains short, as it is in the bud, 
and the leaves remain close together in sets 
or circles. The outer ones, or those of the 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 95 

calyx, generally partake more or less of the 
character of foliage, but the next set are 
more delicate, and form the corolla. The 
stamens and pistils appear under very dif- 
ferent forms, from those of ordinary leaves. 
They are concerned in the production of 
seed." 

''Why do some suppose that flowers 
answer to branches, Miss Williams?" 

''By their position on the plant. You 
remember in our talk on inflorescence, we 
learned that flowers grow from the same 
places that branches do, and from no other. 
Flower buds, like leaf buds, appear either 
on the summit of a stem, as a terminal bud, 
or in the axil of a leaf, as an axillary bud. 
Besides the plan of a symmetrical flower 
shows the same arrangement of its parts on 
its axis, as the leaf on its stem. The petals 
have the nature of leaves, and are called the 
leaves of the flower." 

"Oh ! yes, now I understand." 

"You see, the calyx is most always green 
in color and leaf-like in texture. The 
corolla is not green, but neither are all the 
leaves green. The leaves of the wild 
painted-cup are as bright colored as the 
corolla itself. The leaves of the scarlet sage 
are also red. These two instances prove 
that leaves are not always green. If you 
could examine the flowers of the cactus, the 
Carolina all-spice, and the white water lily, 



96 MELBA'S PLAKT LESSON'S 

you would find it difficult to tell where the 
leaves of the plant end and the calyx of 
the flower begins. If sepals are leaves, so 
are petals, for there is no fixed limit be- 
tween them. The water lily has more than 
one row of petals, but there is such a com- 
plete transition between the calyx and 
corolla, that no one can tell how many of 
the leaves belong to the one, and how many 
to the other. 

"The stamens are of the same nature as 
the petals, and are therefore a modification 
of leaves also. There is a gradual transi- 
tion from the one to the other in many 
blossoms, especially in such as roses and 
camellias when they begin to double. In 
such cases, their stamens change to petals. 
The Carolina all-spice and white water lily 
exhibit gradations, not only between their 
petals and sepals, but also betv/een their 
petals and stamens. The sepals are green 
outside, but white and petal-like on the 
inside. 

''Again the petals in many of the rows 
gradually grow narrower to the center of 
the flower. Some are tipped with a trace 
of a yellow anther, while others are more 
stamen-like, but have flat, petal-like fila- 
ments, and if we w^ould continue our obser- 
vations, we w^ould see that the last row 
are genuine stamens." 



^lELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 9T 

"Miss Williams, do pistils and stamens 
ever change into each other?" 

"Yes, they do, but not often. The change 
has been noticed in some willows. Pistils 
often change to petals in some cultivated 
plants, and sometimes a blossom changes to 
a cluster of green leaves, or degenerates into 
a leafy branch. Now, Melba, we have fin- 
ished this part of the subject. We will now 
look at some of the flowers that deviate from 
the type or pattern flower and how they 
differ from the natural pattern. 

"The deviations are various and extensive. 
They embrace the imperfect flowers, many 
of which have neither stamens or pistils. 
The perfect flowers are called the 
hermaphrodites. They have both pistils and 
stamens. When flowers have stamens and 
not pistils, or pistils and not stamens, they 
are called unisexual flowers. Sometimes 
flowers of both sorts are produced by the 
same plant. When they are, they are called 
monoicous flowers. That word means they 
are of one household. 

"An example of this flower can be seen 
in the castor-oil plant. When the two kinds 
of flowers are borne on different plants, as 
they are in the willow, poplars, hemp, and 
moon-seed plant, they are called diocoious^ 
meaning they are flowers of separate house- 
holds. When some of the flowers are per- 
fect, or hermaphrodite, and some staminate 



■98 :MELBA\S PLAXT LESSOR'S 

■or pistillate only, they are said to be poly- 
gamous. 

"A blossom that has stamens, but no pis- 
tils, and a blossom having pistils but no 
stamen, is a pistillate or female flower. In- 
complete flowers are so named :*n contra- 
distinction to complete ones. They have 
but one floral envelope, and sometimes none. 
The flowers of the castor-oil plant are incom- 
plete, because they have a calyx, but no 
corolla. The Pennsylvania anemone has a 
corolla-like calyx, and the flower of the 
saururus, or lizard's-tail has neither calyx 
or corolla and still it is a perfect flower. 
Incompete flowers are said to be naked, be- 
cause they are destitute of both floral en- 
velopes and is apetalous."' 

''When they have no corolla, Miss 
Williams, do flowers ever have a corolla 
and no calyx?" 

''Not often, dear, but there are instances 
where they do. Usually where there is a 
single perianth, it is taken to be a calyx, 
unless the absent calyx can be made evi- 
dent. In contrad'stinction to regular and 
symmetrical flowers, many are also irregular 
and unsymmetrical. They are irregular 
when they have all or some members of the 
:floral circles, unequal or dissimilar, and 
unsymmetrical. when the circles of the 
flowers or some of them differ in the num- 
"ber of their members, but want of symmetry 



MELBA'S PLAKT LESSONS 99 

and irregularity usually go together. Both 
kinds are common, for there are few flowers 
that are entirely symmetrical beyond the 
calyx, corolla, and perhaps the stamens." 

"How are we to know those things," Miss 
Williams ?'' 

''Only by observation. If you should 
examine the mustard blossom you will see 
it has four equal petals, four equal sepals, 
one pistil and six stamens. There are two 
circles. The outer one has two stamens and 
the inner one has four. The violet blossom 
is on the plan of five. It is symmetrical in 
calyx, corolla and stamens, because each of 
the circles consists of five members. The 
corolla is irregular because one of the petals 
is different in shape from the rest of the 
other parts. 

''Take the flower of the larkspur and- 
monks-hood or aconite. They are related. 
They have an irregular calyx and corolla 
and are very unsymmetrical. The irregular 
calyx consists of five sepals, one of which is 
larger than the others, and is prolonged be- 
hind into a large soc, or spur. But the 
corolla has only four petals that are of two 
shapes. The fifth is left out. The monks- 
hood has five very dissimilar sepals, and a 
corolla of two very small and curiously 
shaped petals. In that case, there are three 
parts needed to make up the symmetry. In 
these flowers the stamens and pistils are 



100 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

also out of symmetry. They are usually 
diminished to three, two and some times to 
one. We will not go any farther today, 
Melba. You have done well, to be so atten- 
tive, for this is a difficult subject." 



MMaBA^ plant lessons 101 



FLOWERS CONTINUED. 

"We are to go on with our flower talk 
today, Melba. There are a great many 
flowers that have a multiplication of parts. 
Take those flowers that we had the other 
day and you will find they have an indefinite 
number of stamens, but not so many pistils. 
Most cactus flowers and water-lilies have 
the number of their organs much increased. 
The buttercup has five sepals and five petals, 
but an indefinite number of both pistils and 
stamens. 

"Flowers are also modified by the union 
of their parts. In such cases the parts look 
like separate leaves or other organs growing 
out of the end of the stem, or receptacle. 
There are tAvo kinds of such union. The 
blossom from the stramonium, or jimson 
weed, has five petals and five sepals. They 
are united to their tips, which causes them 
to form a tube or long, narrow cup. When 
the parts of the same circle are united as in 
that flower, it is called coalescence. There 
is also a union of unlike parts, called adna- 
tion. We will have an example of it later. 

"There are certain needful terms that 
express the union of these parts that will 
have to be used in talking about them. 



103 MEIJBA'S Pi-A^T LESSONS 

Wlien the petals of a corolla coales into one 
body, whether at the base or higher ; for the 
union may extend to the very summit, as it 
does in the bloom of the moming--g'lorv it 
is a gam:Opetalous or monopetalons corolla. 
MciiGfielaloEis means one pelaled: while 
^le word ganM^ietalotis means united petals. 
Pc^petaloos is a term that denotes separate 
or many p^als. There is a d^jree of union, 
€Mr sepaialiafi in the corollas and calyxes, 
that must have some consideration before 
ire leave the subject. 

"A corolla when gamopetalous commonly 
shows a distinction by a well-marked 
tohnlar portion below, called the tube, and 
a spieadii^ part above, called the border or 
limb. The enlarged upper portion of the 
tube between the two is called the throat. 
The same names are used for the parts of 
the calyx. There are also names given to 
particnlar forms of the gamopetalous 
corolla that also apply to the gamopetalous 
calyx. "VMien it spreads out at once, having- 
no tnbe, or a very ^ort one, ssuming- the 
sh^e, it is said to be wheel-shaped, or 
rotate. The potato blossom with its five- 
lobed corolla, and the five-parted corolla of 
the bitter-sweet, are both wheel-shaped." 

"Miss Williams, I can get them. For 
they are growing^ in oar garden." 

"Yes, any time when tiie plants are 
near, examine them." 



MELBA'S FLANT LESSONS 103 

"When the corolla has a flat, spreading 
border that is raised on a narrow tube from 
which it diverges at right angles, as it does 
in the flower of the standing cypress or 
ipomea and of the phlox, it is said to be 
salver-shaped. Where the flower has a 
short, broad tube that widens upwards, 
assuming the shape of a bell, as the blossom 
of the campanula, or hare-bell does, it is said 
to be bell-shaped. When the corolla grad- 
ually spreads from the summit of a tube, as 
it does in the blossom of the jimson weed 
and morning-glory, they are said to be 
funnel-shaped. And when the corolla is 
prolonged to a tube, with little or no spread- 
ing of the border, as in the flower of the 
trumpet honey-suckle, and the calyx of the 
jimson weed, it is said to be tubular in form. 

"Another thing, Melba, although the 
sepals and petals are usually all blade, like 
a sessile leaf, yet they may have a contracted 
stalk-like base that answers to a petiole. 
That part of the flower-leaf is called the 
claw. The flowers of the Pink family are 
strongly marked with the claw. The poly- 
petalous corolla of the soap wort has five 
petals with long claws or stalk-like bases. 
Such petals may also have an outgrowth or 
extension of the inner face, called the crown. 
The crown grows into an appendage or 
fringe, as you can see in the blossom of the 
soap-wort, and in the petal of the silence. 



104 J^IELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

"The last named flower has a two-parted 
crown that consists of numerous threads on 
the base of each petal. Irreg-ular flowers 
may be polypetalous, or nearly so, as they 
are in the blossom of the locust. It has a 
papilionaceous corolla. That flower takes 
its name from its shape. The word means 
butterfly-like." 

"Do you think it looks like a butterfly, 
Miss Williams?" 

"Well, dear, if the flower is large and of a 
l)rilliant color, it may be somewhat sugges- 
tive. There are many plants with that 
shaped blossom, as you will learn w^hen you 
begin to take them by families. The flower 
is nearly polypetalous, but not entirely so, 
because two of the petals slightly cohere. 
If you take the flower apart you can see the 
petals much better It has a large upper 
petal, called the standard, or banner, and 
two sides ones that are quite different in 
shape from the standard. They are called 
the wings. There are two smaller ones than 
the others that are slightly coalescent. 
They are called the keel. 

"The flower of the dead nettle also has a 
peculiar shaped corolla. It is called the labi- 
ate corolla. Labiate means two-lipped, but 
the word should have been bilabiate. That 
word more nearly expresses the meaning. 
The flower from the snap-dragon is also 
two-lipped, and so is the bloom from the 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 105 

toad-flax, but the corolla of that flower is 
spurred at the base. These flowers are all 
on the plan of five. The irregularity in the 
corolla is owing to the unequal union of the 
petals, as well as to the diversity of their 
form. In the dead-nettle bloom, the two 
petals of the upper side of the flower unite 
with each other higher up than they do 
with the side petals and there form the 
upper lip. The side and lower petals unite 
in a similar manner to form the lower lip. 
The lobe which is generally found at the 
summit of the lower lip shows its real 
formation. 

"The five parts that we have described, 
alternate with those of the calyx outside of 
them. But when the calyx is also bilabiate, 
as they are in the blossom of the sage, the 
alternation gives three lobes to the upper 
and two to the lower lip. Therefore, Melba, 
the two forms of the bilabiate corolla have 
been designated by certain names. When 
the orifice is wide open as it is in the 
blossom from the dead-nettle, it is said to 
be gaping, or ringent. But when an intru- 
sion of the base of the lower lip, called the 
palate, projects over or closes the orifice, as 
it does in the snap-dragon and toad-flax, it 
is said to be personate, or masked. 

"There are certain gradations between the 
bilabiate and regular corollas that I would 
like you to see. In the Gerardia and 



106 ]V,n:LEA"S PLAXT LESSOMS 

and Catalpa, the bilabiate character is slig^ht, 
but is manifest on close inspection. But in 
all such flowers, the plan of five can be seen 
in the calyx and corolla, but obscured in the 
stamens by the abortion, or suppression of 
one or three of their number. In the corolla 
of the purple gerardia there are four 
stamens, but a vacant space in the center 
of those present, where the fifth one would 
be, if it were present. The corolla of the 
pentstemon has four stamens and a sterile 
filament in the place where the fifth one 
would be, and in the corolla of the catalpa 
there are two fully developed stamens and 
three abortive ones. You mav eo now, 
Melba." 

•'What will we take next time?" 



"'.•."e '■'■:'.'. exan::::r :::e 5:rao- 


shaped 


cr 


lineulare czrc'la, artd then 


-eave 


the 


subject." 






iNIelba thought of the tr.ar.y 


thing's 


she 


had learned, and as she " er.: :: 


; t . r ":: e 


said 


to her maid: "Come v.ith :re h 


lar'.'. I 


am 


going to the flower gar c e r t i s a 


hern: ;: 


n Zj 


look at some of the f: ers I 


h?n.'e '; 


: een 


talking- about." She e:.: :: 


tne s: 


taa- 


cras:::.s and larkspurs ani ad : 


: then: 


: ■•I 


have ::n:e to look at ycur irett 


■." and : 


•:ri- 


: us'v shaped corollas. 'e ha- e 


teen t 


a-.-c- 


ing about ycu." 







MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 107 



FLOWERS CONTINUED. 

"We will now examine the strap-shaped, 
or lingulate corolla today, Melba, and then 
leave the subject. That shape mainly be- 
longs, or is found in the flowers of the 
Composite Family, where numerous small 
flowers form a head within an involucre 
that imitates a calyx. 

''The best examples of that corolla are the 
dandelion and chicory blossoms. Each one 
of the shapes look like so many petals, but 
they are the corolla of a distinct flower. The 
base of the flower is a short tube that opens 
out into the lingule. It has five minute 
teeth at the end, which indicate the number 
of petals. It is a kind of gamopetalous corolla 
that opens along one side nearly to the base, 
then it spreads out. In asters, daisies, sun- 
flowers, coreopsis and the like, only the 
marginal or ray corollas, are Ungulate, but 
those of the disk are regularly gamope- 
talous, tubular in shape, and five-lobed at 
the summit. But they are small and incon- 
spicuous, only the ray flowers making any 
show. In fact those of the coreopsis and 
sunflower are simply for show, being not 
only sterile, but neutral." 



108 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

"What does that mean, Miss Wiliams?*' 

"That they have neither pistils or 
stamens." 

"Oh, yes, I see." 

"But in the asters, daisies, golden-rod and 
like flowers, the ray flowers are pistilalte and 
fertile. They therefore serve for seed bear- 
ing as well as for show. 

"That finishes that subject, Melba, and 
we will now look at the union that is found 
to exist between the parts that belong to 
the different circles of the flower. 

"The union of the parts is called adnation. 
The parts of the flower are not formed and 
then joined, but they are produced in the 
union. That is, they are borne united. 
There is no adnation in the flax flower. The 
sepals and stamens are all separately borne 
on the receptacle, one circle within or above 
the other. But the five pistils have their 
ovaries coalescent. In the cherry blossom 
the petals and stamens are borne on the 
throat of the calyx tube, the sepals are 
coalescent into a cup, and the petals and 
stamens are adnate to the inner face of it. 
In the purslane flower the same parts are 
adnate to or consolidated with the ovary up 
to its middle. In the hawthorne flower the 
consolidation has extended over the whole 
ovary and the petals and stamens are adnate 
to the calyx, still further up. It is the same 
in the cranberry blossom, except that all the 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 109 

parts are free at the same height and all 
seem to rise from the top of the ovary. 

"Our next step now, dear, will be to notice 
the arrangement of the parts of the flower 
in the bud before the blossom opens. But 
we will not begin the subject today." 

"I never would have thought that there 
was so much to be learned about flowers. 
How wonderfully complicated they are in 
their structure ! But I am beginning to see 
now, Miss Williams, why you said to me 
that I could not take the plants by their 
families until I studied the parts of the 
plant." 

"I am glad you remember that, dear, for 
since you do, you can see what I had in 
mind when I told you that." 



110 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



NATURE STUDY 

"It is Nature Study today, Melba, and we 
are to begin our new subject. There is noth- 
ing in all the works of nature but what are 
done in an orderly, systematic way, and like 
everything else, the parts of the flower in 
the bud have a perfect arrangement and 
have been studied and known. It is called 
the estivation of the flower. The leaves of 
the calyx or corolla either over-lap each 
other in the bud, or they do not. When 
they do not, they meet each other by their 
edges, then the estivation is said to be 
valvate. That arrangement is found in the 
calyx of the linden or basswood. When the 
margins of each piece projects inward, as 
they do in the calyx of the virgin's bower, 
it is an induplicate estivation. When the 
margins are rolled inward as in the clematis 
it is involute. When the parts do not touch, 
as in the bud of the mignonette, it is 
reduplicate. When they are twisted cr 
rolled together as they are in the corolla of 
the flax flower, they are convolute. When 
folded lengthwise and the plaits turned out- 
ward, forming projecting ridges, as in the 
campanula, or turned inward, as in the 
gentian, it is said to be plaited or plicate. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS HI 

But when the plaits are convolutely wrapped 
round each other, as in the morning-glory 
and jimson weed, it is supervolute estiva- 
tion. 

**You remember, dear, that the arrange- 
ment is not confined to just the flower buds 
of the plants named, but runs through the 
buds of all the plants of the family to which 
that plant belongs. The valvate is the esti- 
vation that marks all the plants that belong 
to the same family that the linden or bass- 
wood belongs, and so on with all the 
arrangements. 

'*At our next talk, we will take the 
stamens and pistils." 

''Why, Miss Williams, I thought we had 
finished with them." 

''Oh, no dear, we haven't even touched 
that subject yet." 



STAMENS AND PISTILS. 

"We are to begin our new subject today, 
Melba. The stamen of a flower usually goes 
with the petals. There are several forms of 
insertion or attachment. In some they are 
inserted on the corolla, near the base, as 
they are in the corolla of the morning-glory. 



112 :melba's plaxt lessons 

In the flower called the lady's-slipper and 
other members of the orchid family, the 
stamens are inserted on the style. 

'•'The number of stamens differ in differ- 
ent plants and they run from one to many. 
The filament is a kind of stalk to the anther. 
It is commonly slender or thread-like, and 
is to the anther, what the petiole is to the 
blade of a leaf. It is therefore not an essen- 
tial part, for the anther may be sessile. The 
anther is the essential part of the stamen 
and is a sort of case filled with a fine powder 
called the pollen." 

"Yes, I know we had that before, and I 
remember it." 

This pollen fertilizes the pistil so that it 
may produce perfect seeds. Very seldom 
does a stamen bear any resemblance what- 
ever to a leaf, or even a petal or flower leaf. 
Nevertheless, many who have made plant 
life a special study, see that the stamen 
answers to a leaf that has developed in a 
special form, and for a special purpose. In 
the filament, they see the stalk of the leaf, 
and in the anther the blade. The leaf blade 
consists of two similar sides and the anther 
consists of two lobes, or cells, one answer- 
ing to the left and the other to the right side 
of the blade. The two lobes are often con- 
nected by the prolongation of the filament 
which answers to the midrib of the leaf. 
The arrangement is seen in the stamens of 



M^LBA'S PLANT LESSONS Ha 

the isopyrum. In it the connective, is so 
broad that it separates the two cells of the 
anther to some distance. 

''The pollen is a powdery matter, com- 
monly of a yellow color, which fills the cells 
of the anther and is discharged during the 
blooming time. After it is discharged the 
stamen generally falls or withers away. 

''The next part of the flower to consider 
is the pistil. When there is only one pistil 
it occupies the center of the flower; but 
when there are two they stand facing each 
other in the center of the flower. Where 
there are several they commonly form a ring 
or circle, and when they are numerous they 
are generally crowded in rows or spirals on 
the surface of the receptacle. The parts of 
a complete flower, as already explained are 
the ovary, style and stigma. The ovary is 
one essential part, because it contains the 
rudiments of the seeds, called ovules. The 
stigma, that is situated at the summit, is also 
essential. It receives the pollen which fer- 
tilizes the ovules, so that they may become 
seeds. But the style, that is commonly a 
tapering, or slender column, borne on the 
summit of the ovary, bearing the stigma on 
its apex, or side, is no more essential to the 
pistil than the filament is to the stamen. 
Therefore, there is no style in many pis-^ 
tils. The stigma is sessile and rests directly 
on the ovary in those plants where it is 



114 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSON'S 

absent, as it does in the pistil of the man- 
-drake or May-apple. 

"The stigma varies in shape and appear- 
ance. Sometimes it is a little knob, as it is 
in the cherry blossom, or a point, as in the 
spider wort. Sometimes it is a crest, or line, 
as in the isopyrum, or it may occupy the 
whole length of the style as it does in the 
pistil of the sand wort. 

"Well, now, you may be excused, Melba. 
We will take up the simple and compound 
pistil next time we talk. 

"This has been an interesting talk, Miss 
Williams." 

"I am glad you liked it dear." 



MIELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 115 



SIMPLE AND COMPOUND PISTILS. 

''We are to take the simple and compound 
pistil, today, Melba. A pistil is either simple 
or compound. It is simple when it answers 
to a single flower leaf, and compound when 
it answers to two or three, or to a full circle 
of such leaves. Each pistil's flower leaf, or 
simple pistil, is called a carpel. Each part 
flower leaf of a compound pistil is likewise a 
carpel. When a flower has two or more 
pistils they are, of course, simple; that is, 
they are separate carpels, or pistil leaves. 
There may be only a single simple pistil to 
the flower, as in the pea or cherry blossom, 
or there may be two such, as there are in 
many plants of the Saxifrage Family, or 
many as in the strawberry. Usually the 
single pistil in the center of a blossom is a 
compound one and there is hardly ever any 
difficulty in ascertaining the number of 
carpels, or pistil leaves that compose it. 

"The simple pistil, according to the views 
oi some who study plants, answer to a leaf 
blade, with incurved margins that are united 
where they meet, and so form a closed case, 
or pod, that bears ovules at the junction of 
these margins. A tapering upper portion 
with margins singularly installed, is sup- 
pressed to form the style, and these same 
margins exposed at the tip, or fot a portion 



116 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

of the length, become the stigma. A single 
pistil has a one-celled ovary, a single style, 
and a single stigma. But there are certain 
variations from this normal condition that 
sometimes occur with the pistil, but it does 
not invalidate the statement just made." 

"What are those conditions, Miss 
Williams?" 

"Well, the stigma may become two-lobed, 
or two-ridged because it may consist of two- 
leaf margins. If you could see the simple 
pistil of the isopyrum with its ovary cut 
across, you would see that the inner face is 
turned toward the eye. The ovules seem 
to be borne on the ventral suture, and there- 
fore answers to leaf margins. The stigma 
above also answers to leaf margins. So you 
see. dear, that the pistil may become two- 
celled, by the turning or growing imvard of 
one of the sutures, so as to divide the cavity. 

"There are two or three terms that relate 
to the parts of a simple pistil or carpel, and 
are also carried on to the compound pistil as 
well. The line that ansAvers to the united 
margin of the carpel leaf and the ventral or 
inner one because it looks inward, or to the 
center of the flower, is called the ventral 
suture, or seam. The line down the back 
of the carpel that answers to the midrib of 
the leaf is not a seam. It is the line where 
many fruits, such as the pea-pods, open. It 
is called the dorsal suture. 



:a^ELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 117 

"We will now notice the receptacle. It is 
that part of the flower that belongs to the 
stem. In some flowers it is small and short ; 
in others, long, thick, or variously enlarged, 
and takes on various other forms, and is 
named accordingly. Flowers with numer- 
ous single pistils generally have their recep- 
tacle enlarged so as to give them room. 
Sometimes they become broad and flat, as 
they are in the flowering raspberry, and 
sometimes elongated as in the blackberry 
and magnolia fruit. 

"It is the receptacle in the strawberry, 
Melba, much enlarged and pulpy, when it is 
ripe, that forms the eatable part of the fruit, 
and bears the seed-like pistil on its surface. 
The end of the flower is attained when the 
ovules become seeds. The flower remains 
long enough for the fulfilment of this end. 
The time that the flower remains is called 
the anthesis. During the anthesis the 
ovules have to be fertilized by the pollen, or 
the pollen has to reach the stigma, or ovule 
itself, to set up the growth that results in 
the production of an embryo in the ovule. 
By this the ovules are said to be fertilized. 
The first step in fertilization is pollination, 
or sowing the pollen upon the stigma, where 
it is to germinate. 

"Our next talk, Melba, will be upon the 
fertilization of the stigma; but this is 
enough for today. 



118 MELBA'S VLANT LESSONS 



FERTILIZATION OF THE STIGMA. 

"Now, Melba, today we want to notice 
the process by which the stigma becomes 
fertilized. Sometimes the application of the 
pollen, to the stigma is left to chance, as it 
is in the dioicous or wind-fertilized flowers. 

In others, the flowers are fertilized in the 
bud. In some, thepollen isprevented from 
reaching the stigma of the same flower, al- 
though very near it, but there are always 
arrangements for it to reach the stigma of 
some other blossom of the kind. 

''It is among those flowers that the most 
exquisite adaptations are met with. There- 
fore some flowers are particularly adapted 
to close or self-fertilization, while others 
are to cross fertilization. Close fertiliza- 
tion occurs when the pollen reaches and acts 
upon the stigma of the same flower, or 
upon other blossoms of a cluster of the same 
plant. Cross fertilization occurs when the 
ovules are fertilized by the pollen of other 
individuals of the same specie. 

"Hybridization occurs when ovules are 
fertilized by the pollen of some other nearly 
related specie. Close fertilization would 
seem to be the natural result in ordinary 
hermaphrodite flowers, but it is not true in 
all of them. 



KELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 1^ 

"The arrangements are usually such that 
it takes place only after some opportunity 
for cross fertilization has been afforded,. 
Close fertilization is sure in those that are 
fertilized in the flower bud. Most flowers 
of this kind never open, for the closed floral 
coverings are forced off by the growth of 
the fertilized pistil. 

The common examples of that are found 
in the earlier blossoms of the perfoliate, of 
the specularia ; in the later blossoms of most 
violets, especially the stemless species, and 
the wild Jewell weed, of the specie of im- 
patients. Every plant that produces these 
bud-fertilized flowers also bears open flow- 
ers that are very conspicuous and usually 
of bright colors. The open ones seldom 
ever bear seed, but the former are very 
prolific. 

Cross fertilization depends entirely on the 
transportation of the pollen. The two prin- 
cipal agents of conveyance of the pollen are 
the winds and insects, and most flowers irt 
their structure are adapted to one or the 
other. Wind-fertilized flowers are more 
commonly dioicious or moniocious, as in the 
pines and all coniferous trees. The oaks,, 
birches, sedges and some of the hermaph- 
rodite flowers, as the plantain and most 
grasses. These plants produce a super 
abundance of very light pollen that is 
adapted to be wind-borne. They offer no 



120 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

nectar to feed winged insects, nor fragrance 
or bright colors to attract them. 

"Insect-fertilized flowers are those sought 
by insects for their pollen or nectar, or for 
both. Through their visits pollen is carried 
from one plant and flower to another." 

"What is the nectar, Miss Williams ?" 

"It is the material that honey is made of, 
and is found in certain flowers. While the 
bees are supplying their own needs they 
carry the pollen from anther to stigma and 
irom plant to plant, thus bringing about a 
certain amount of cross fertilization. 
Willows and some other dioicious flowers 
are so fertilized. But most insect-visited 
flowers have their stamens and pistils asso- 
ciated either in the same or some very near 
blossoms. Even in the same blossom 
anthers and stigmas are very often so situ- 
ated that during insect visitation, some 
pollen is more likely to be deposited on 
other stigmas, as well as their own, which 
gives a chance for cross, as well as close 
fertilization. 

"On the other hand many flowers have 
their parts so arranged that they must be 
cross fertilized, or barren, and are therefore 
dependent on the aid of insects. This aid is 
secured by different adaptations and con- 
trivances that ■Mother Nature has arranged 
for the purpose. Some of the adaptations 
that favor cross fertilization are pecuhiar to 



MjELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 121 

the particular kind of blossom, orchids, 
milk-weeds, kalmia, iris and the papilion- 
aceous flowers. Each have their own special 
contrivances that are quite different from 
each other. 

"Irregular flowers, and especially irregu- 
lar corollas, are usually adapted to insect 
visitation. So are all the cavities in which 
nectar is secreted, whether they are hollow 
spurs, sacs or cavities." 

"What is the need of all those arrange- 
ments, Miss Williams?" 

"Well, dear, they must be some essential 
advantage to plant life, otherwise all the 
various elaborate and exquisitely adjusted 
adaptations that are provided for cross fer- 
tilization by Mother Nature, would not have 
been made, 

"Our next talk will be on the formation 
of the baby, or new plant in the seed, and 
then we will leave the subject altogether." 

Melba went to spend the afternoon with 
her mother. 

"Oh! Mother, I am so pleased with my 
teacher. Of all my studies I like the Nature 
Study the best. We are just finishing up 
the subject of flowers and it is perfectly 
wonderful how much there is to learn about 
them. Teacher says when I have finished 
studying the parts of the plants, I will be 
ready to take them by families. How de- 
lighted I will be when I can call each little 



122 ^lELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

plant by its family name, or say to what 
family it belongs." 



FORMATION OF NEW PLANTS. 

"Now, Melba, we are on our last subject 
on flowers. As I told you, we are to talk 
about the formation of the new plant in the 
seed. We can only understand it by under- 
standing the action of the pollen and the 
formation of the embryo. 

"A grain of pollen may be likened to a 
single seed, and like a seed it is capable of 
germination. When it is deposited on the 
stigma, it grows from some point. Its liv- 
ing inner coat breaks through the outer coat, 
and protrudes in the form of a delicate tube. 
As this tube lengthens it penetrates the 
loose tissue of the stigma, and also a loose- 
conducting tissue in the style and it feeds 
on a nourishing liquid matter there pro- 
vided. It finally reaches the cavity of the 
ovary, enters the orifice of an ovule and 
attaches its extremity to a sac, or the lining 
of a definite cavity in the ovule, called the 
embryo sac. A small portion of the living 
matter in the embryo sac is formed and is in 
some way placed in close relation to the 
apex of the pollen tube. It absorbs the con- 
tents of the latter, and then sets up a special 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 123 

growth, and the embryo, or rudimentary 
plant-let in the seed is the result. 

"We have now finished our talk on flow- 
ers, Melba. There are some things about 
them we did not speak of, for instance, their 
color and odor. Think what a wonderful 
variety of color they exhibit. They could 
have performed their office just as well as 
they do, without being as beautiful and as 
sweet as they are. But Mother Nature not 
only made them beautiful, but sweet. Their 
many fashioned corollas are bedecked in all 
colors, shades and tones, simply to please 
and make us glad to have them. And they 
are not only beautiful to us, but we have 
learned how the many sweets that they con- 
tain, attract many beautiful insects and 
some birds to them for the nectar they con- 
tain in their pretty cups. 



124 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



THE FRUIT. 

"Well, Melba, we are to take a new subject 
on plant life today. Can you remember 
anything you learned about the fruit in any 
previous lesson, Melba?" 

"Yes, I remember that the fruit is pro- 
duced by the flower." 

"That is true. We are now going to learn 
the nature of the fruit, and from what part 
of the flower it is produced. The ovary of 
the flower matures into the fruit and there- 
fore we say, the fruit is the ripened ovary. 
It is the seed-vessel, as you learned, but the 
book men call it the pericarp. There are 
many things connected with the seed-holder 
or pericarp that must be considered with it, 
if we are to have a perfect knowledge of its 
formation. 

"The calyx, or a part of it, is often in- 
corporated with the ovary, and when it be- 
comes a portion of the pericarp, it forms 
along with the receptacle, the whole bulk of 
such edible fruits as the pear and apple. 
The receptacle is an obvious part in the 
blackberry and is the whole edible portion 
in the strawberry. A cluster of distinct 
carpels may, in ripening, be consolidated so 
as to be taken for one fruit. Such is the 
case in the raspberry, the blackberry, the 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 125 

fruit of the magnolia and many others. The 
ripened product of many flowers may be 
grown together so as to form a single com- 
pound fruit. Therefore, there must be a 
distinction between the various kinds, and 
names must be given to these classifications 
so that they can be distinguished one from' 
the other. 

''Those fruits that result from the ripening 
of a single pistil, and consist of only the 
matured ovary as in the cherry, gooseberry 
and blackberry which have the calyx tube 
completely incorporated with it, are called 
simple fruits. When a cluster of carpels of 
the same flower are crowded into a mass, 
as they are in the raspberry and blackberry, 
it is called an aggregate fruit. When the 
surrounding or supports of the mass, as the 
loose calyx changed into a fleshy berry-like 
envelope, as it is in the wintergreen and 
buffalo berry, or in an aggregate fruit such 
as the strawberry and blackberry, they are 
called accessory fruits. When a fruit is 
formed from several flowers that are consoli- 
dated into one mass, of which the common 
receptacle, the floral envelope and even the 
bracts, make a part, it is called a multiple 
fruit. 

"The mulberry and pineapple are 
examples of the multiple fruit. You can 
go now, Melba. We will take the kinds of 
fruit next." 



126 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

FRUITS CONTINUED. 

"We are to talk about the kinds of fruit 
today, Melba. Fruits are distinguished by 
their texture or consistence, and are divided 
into three kinds. Those that are more of 
less soft and juicy throughout, are called 
fleshy fruits. Those that have the outer 
part fleshy like a berry, and the inner part 
hard or stony like a nut, are called stone- 
fruits. And those that have no flesh or 
pulp are called dry fruit. 

"We have learned, Melba, that the fruit 
is a seed-holder. After the vessel or holder 
ripens, the seeds must find their way out 
of it so they can perform their function. 
Mother Nature knew that, and in her pro- 
visions, she also arranged a way for the 
seeds to be disseminated. Therefore, a 
definite name has been given to them to dis- 
tinguish the way and the time of opening 

"Fruits that do not open at maturity are 
named indehiscent. Fleshy fruits and stone 
fruits are of course indehiscent, because the 
seed becomes free only through decay, or 
by being fed upon by animals. Many dry 
fruits are indehiscent, but they are mostly 
arranged to be transported by animals. 
Some burst regularly. But many fruits are 
dehiscent, that is, they open at maturity. 
They split open regularly along certain lines 
to discharge their seeds. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 127 

*'A dehiscent fruit very nearly always 
contains many seeds, or more than one. We 
shall name some of the principal fleshy 
fruits, so you will know them. The berry is 
one; it has the whole flesh soft throughout. 
The fruits belonging to the berry class are 
the gooseberry, currant, blueberry, cran- 
berry and tomato. The orange is also a 
berry with a leathery rind. The pepo or 
gourd fruit comes next. It is a hard rinded 
berry, that belongs to the gourd family. 
The pumpkin, squash, cucumber and melon 
make up the list. 

''The pome is a name that is applied to 
the apple, pear and quince. They are fleshy 
fruits like a berry, but are not produced the 
same way. They come from the thickening 
of the calyx. The only part that belongs to 
the carpels is the papery pods, that are 
arranged like a star in the core. The fruit 
of the hawthorn is between the drupe and 
the pome. 

"The fruits that are externally fleshy and 
internally hard are the drupe or stone fruit. 
They are the cherry, plum and peach. In 
this class of fruits, the outer part of the 
thickness of the pericarp becomes fleshy or 
softens like a berry, while the inner part 
hardens like a nut. 

"Among the dry fruits, there is a greater 
diversity of kinds, and each has a distinct 
name. 



128 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

"The indehiscent sorts of fruit are com- 
monly one-seeded. We will notice the akene 
first. It is a small, dry, indehiscent one- 
seeded fruit. It is often so seed-like in 
appearance that it is taken for a naked seed. 
The fruit of the buttercup, or crowfoot, is 
a good example of the dry fruit. Its nature 
as a ripened pistil is apparent, because it 
bears the remains of a style, stigma, or scar, 
from which it has fallen. It sometimes re- 
tains the style which it uses in various ways 
for dissemination. The akene of the virgin's 
bower is one. The feathered style aids in 
dissimination. 

''The fruit of the Composite Family is 
also an akene. In each class of the fruit of 
that family, the pericarp has an adherent 
calyx tube. The limb of it, when it has one, 
is called the pappus. This name was first 
given to the down of the thistle and like 
plants, but it is now applied to all the forms 
under which the limb of the calyx appears. 
In the lettuce, the dandelion and the like, 
the seed-like fruit, as it matures, tapers up- 
ward into a slender beak. 

"A cremocarp is the name given to the 
fruit of the Parsley Family. It consists of 
a pair of akens that are united completely 
in the blossom, but splits into two closed 
carpels when ripe. The fruit of the sweet- 
cicely is an example of the cremo-carp. A 
utricle is the same as an akene, but has a 



I^JIELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 129^ 

thin, loose, bladdery pericarp, like that of 
the goose-foot, or pigweed. When it is 
ripe, it bursts open irregularly to discharge 
the seed, or it may open by a circular line- 
round the upper part which falls off like a- 
lid, as it does in the fruit of the amaranth, 
A grain is like an akene, with the seed adhe- 
sive to a thin pericarp throughout, so that 
fruit and seed are both incorporated in one 
body, as it is in the wheat, the Indian corn 
and other kinds of grain. 

''A nut is a dry indehiscent fruit, com- 
monly one-celled, one-seeded, and has a hard 
crustaceous, or bony wall, such as is in the 
cocoanut, the hazel nut, chestnut, and the. 
acorn. 

"The acorn has an involucre at the base, 
in the form of a cup, that is called the cupule. 
In the chestnut the cupule forms the burr, 
and in the hazel nut it is a leafy husk. A 
key fruit is either a nut, or an akene, and so is 
any other indehiscent one that is furnished 
with a wing, like those of the ash and elm. 
The maple fruit is a pair of keys.. 

"Dehiscent fruit, or pods, are of two 
classes; those of a simple pistil or carpel, 
which dehisces down one side only, or by 
the inner or ventral suture, is called the 
follicle. The examples of this class of fruits 
are seen in the marsh-marigold, peony, 
larkspur and milk-weed. . 

"But the pea-pod and the fruit of the 



130 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

Pulse Family, generally is one which opens 
along the dorsal, as well as the ventral 
suture, and is called the legume. The two 
parts into which it splits are called valves. 
A loment is a legume that is constricted be- 
tween the seeds and at length breaks up 
cross-wise in distinct joints. We will stop 
now, dear. 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 131 



COMPOUND OVARY. 

"Today, Melba, we take the compound 
ovary. The pods belonging to a compound 
ovary have several names, but are all a 
kind of capsule. The capsule is the dry 
dehiscent fruit of any compound pistil. It 
may discharge its seed through chinks, or 
pores, as it does in the poppy, or burst irreg- 
ularly in some part, as it does in the lobelia, 
l)ut they generally open lengthwise into 
regular pieces called valves. 

''You see, Melbe, Mother Nature has pro- 
vided a way whereby the seed of all plants 
can be distributed. The akene of the vir- 
gin's bower and the buttercup, retain their 
feathered style which aids them in their dis- 
semination. The fruits that look so seed- 
like are the akene of the Mayweed, that has 
no pappus; the akene of the succory that 
has only a shallow cup ; the akene of the 
sunflower, that has a pappus of two scales, 
and the pappus of the sneeze-wood that has 
five scales. The akene of the sow-thistle 
has a pappus of delicate downy hair and the 
dandelion has its pappus raised on a long 
beak. 

''There is another class of dry fruits we 
must consider. The fruit of the sweet- 



132 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

cicely has two carpels. They grow on a 
slender axis, or stalk that extends between 
the carpels from which they separate when 
they are ripe. The fruit of the common 
pig-weed and of the amaranth has an open- 
ing all around. The acorn, or nut of the 
oak, has a cup, or cupule. The keys of the 
white ash, which is the fruit of that tree, 
has a winged end. The samara, or key 
fruit of the American elm, is winged all 
around. The fruit of the sugar maple is a pair 
of keys. The fruit of the marsh-marigold is 
a follicle, and of the sweet-pea a legume. 
The fruit of the tich-trefoil is a loment or 
jointed legume. The fruit of the iris is a 
capsule and of the marsh St. John's wort, is 
a pod. The spring-cress bears a silique ; the 
shepherd's-purse a silcel, and the pod of the 
purslane has a detaching lid. 

''The fruit of the fig and the mulberry are 
multiple, for they consist of a mass of fruits, 
aggregated in one body. The pineapple is 
also a multiple fruit. The fig fruit is the 
fleshy axis, or summit of a stem that is 
hollowed out and lined within by a multi- 
tude of minute flowers, the whole of which 
becomes pulpy as it is in the common fig. 

"The pine and cypress also bear a multiple 
fruit. The cones are open pistils, mostly in 
the form of flat scales. They regularly 
overlap each other and press themselves to- 
gether into spikes, or heads. Each scale 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 133 

bears one or two naked seeds on its inner 
face. When ripe and dry the scales turn 
back or diverge. The seed of the pine peels 
off and falls, and generally carries with it a 
wing; that is, a part of the lining of the 
scale which assists in the dispersion of the 
seed by the wind. 

**The scale of the cone in the arbor vitea 
are few, but they look very much like leaves. 
In the cypress they are very thick at the 
top and narrow at the base, so as to make 
a peculiar sort of closed cone. In the juni- 
per and red cedar, the scales of the small 
cones become fleshy and ripen into a fruit 
that closely resembles a berry.. 

"Now Melba, this talk closes the lessons 
on fruit. You have learned that under that 
name, many different things are classed. In 
the fig, it is a hollow flower stalk ; in the 
pineapple and mulberry, it is clusters of 
flower leaves; in the blackberry and rasp- 
berry, little clusters of sterile fruits ; in 
quinces, apples and pears, you eat an en- 
larged fleshy calyx ; in peaches, plums, cher- 
ries, apricots and almonds the outer part of 
a seed-vessel ; in grapes, gooseberries, blue- 
berries, currants and cranberries, we eat the 
whole seed-vessel that has grown rich and 
pulpy. 

"So you see Melba, that Mother Nature 
made the fruit to perform a two-fold func- 
tion. It is made to protect the seeds that 



134 :SIELBA'S PLANT LESSORS 

are to reproduce the plant, and gives to man 
one of the most useful and delicious products 
of the natural world. Xothing has a greater 
commercial value than fruit, and as you 
obser^'e and enjo\^ it, you must always re- 
member that it is not only grown to delight 
the eye and taste, but it has other values as 
well." 

"What subject shall be take next, Miss 
Williams " 

"We will take the seeds. It is the last 
subject in the set of talks ; but it is rather 
long and I will let you have several weeks' 
rest, before we take up the subject. Yon 
can read up and endeavor to make fast the 
knowledge you have on the subjects already 
taken." 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 13& 



SEEDS. 

'We will begin our talks on seeds today, 
Melba. Seeds are the final product of the 
flower and is the part to which all the 
offices of the flower are subservient. All 
summer long the mother plant works to 
produce the baby seeds. She gives them 
food and drink, and you have learned how 
she wraps them up into cradles, so that 
nothing can harm them. They rock and 
sleep in their cradles all summer, but when 
fall comes, the mama plant goes to sleep, 
and the seed babies have to care for them- 
selves. So they find a nice warm place 
down under the leaves and sleep there until 
spring comes. 

"In the fall is the time to visit among the 
trees and flowers, if you wish to see, and 
know something of the kinds of cradles the 
next year's plants are put to sleep in. And 
as you go in the fields, garden and woods^ 
you will see many kinds of fruit which, as 
you have learned, are seed-holders. For 
each plant mama has tucked her seed babies 
away in a different kind of cradle. You will 
see some brown ones on the nut trees, red 
ones on the rose bush and cranberry vines. 



136 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

Striped red, yellow and green ones in the 
apple orchard, and purple ones on the grape 
vines. In some of the cradles you will find 
one seed baby and in others two or three, or 
maybe a dozen. Our work now, Melba, will 
be to study the nature of the seed. 

"A seed is an ovule fertilized and matured, 
with a germ or embryo formed in it. It 
consists of its coats, an outer and an inner 
one; the outer one hard, hence, it is called 
the testa or shell of the seed, but the inner 
one is almost always thin and delicate. The 
outer coat is sometimes closely fitted to the 
kernel. It is so in the morning-glory. The 
kernel is the whole body of the seed within 
the coats, and consists of the embryo and 
the albumen. The albumen is the prepared 
food for the embryo to live on. 

"In some cases the outer coat is extended 
into a border, or wing. We can find that in 
the trumpet creeper. Occasionally this wing 
is cut up in shreds or tufts, as it is in the 
catalpa, or instead of a wing it may bear a 
coma or tuft of long, soft hairs, as in the 
milk-weed seeds. The use of these wings, 
or downy tufts is to render the seeds buoy- 
ant, so they can be easily dispersed by the 
winds. This is clear, not only from their 
adaptation to this purpose, but also from the 
fact that winged and turfted seeds are found 
only in fruit that split at maturity, and 
jiever in those that remain closed. 



MIELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 137 

"Mother Nature does not intend the seed 
babies to remain in one place after they 
leave the mama plant. She wants them to 
go and visit other parts and districts, so she 
lias provided means by which they can 
travel. The maple, linden and oak have 
wings with which to fly. The touch-me- 
nots have springs. The burdocks, beggar's 
ticks, and stick-tights, have little hooks that 
catch on to the fur of animals and to people's 
clothes, and are therefore carried from place 
to place. The seed of the thistle, the milk- 
weed, the dandelion, aster, golden-rod, and 
cat-tails have sails with wh'ch to travel. 
Other seeds are scattered by the wind, the 
water, and by man. 

"The coat of some seeds is beset with 
long hairs or wool. The cotton seed which 
is one of the most important vegetable 
products, since it forms the principal cloth- 
ing of the larger part of the human race, 
consists of long, woolly hairs that thickly 
cover the whole surface of the seeds. A 
few seeds have an additional, but more or 
less incomplete covering outside of the real 
seed coats. That cover is called the aril, 
or arillus. We have a specimen of it in the 
loose transparent bag, that encloses the seed 
of the white water-lily, and also in the mace 
of the nutmeg. , 

"The aril is a growth from the extremity 
of the seed-stalk. The scar left from where 



138 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

the seed-stalk falls away, or where the seed 
was attached directly to the placenta, where 
there is no seed-stalk, is called the hilum. 
The place where the seed coats and the 
kernel are connected is called the chalaya. 
The kernel, or nucleus is the whole body of 
the seed within the coats. 

''In many seeds the kernel is all embryo, 
and the embryo, as you know, is the baby 
plant, or little plant-let. The albumen that 
is contained in the seed is intended to nour- 
ish the embryo while it grows, until it can 
provide for itself. The seed vessel, or 
holder, is to protect and nourish the 
embryo while it is forming." 

"Yes, I remember, that was so clearly 
brought out in the lesson on the bean." 

"The final result of germination, develop- 
ment and blooming, is the embryo, or rudi- 
mentary plant-let. Its essential parts are 
the radicle and the cotyledons. The radicle 
is the stemlet from which the root starts ; 
the cotyledons the seed leaves. We have 
already explained the nature of the cotyle- 
dons, Melba, but we want to look at them 
now, w4th regard to number. 

"In the preceding lessons, the cotyledons 
had only two seed leaves. The embryos of 
those plants are dicotyledonous. All plants 
that grow from a two-seed leaved embryo, 
also agree in the general structure of their 
stems, leaves and blossoms, and thus form 



m;elba's plant lessons 139 

a class, named from their embryo, dicotyle- 
donous plants. 

"Polycotyledonous is a name employed 
for the less usual case in which there are 
more than two cotyledons. The pine is the 
most familiar case. It occurs in all pines, 
the number of cotyledons being from three 
to twelve. In the case where there are more 
than two, they form a circle, or whorl at 
the summit of the radicle. When there are 
three, they divide the space equally and are 
one-third of the circle apart. When only 
two, they are opposite. 

"Monocolyledonous is the name of the 
one cotyledoned embryo. With it goes 
peculiarities in stem, leaf and flower that 
produce a great class called monocotyledon- 
ous plants. In this class of plants the leaves 
are alternate from the first. In the iris, the 
embryo in the seed, is a small cylinder at 
one end of a mass of albumen, but it has no 
apparent distinction of parts. The end 
which almost touches the seed-coat is the 
radicle, the other end belongs to the solitary 
cotyledon. In germination the whole 
lengthens only enough to push the proxi- 
mate end fairly out of the seed and from 
this end the root is formed, and from a little 
higher the plumule emerges. It would 
appear, therefore, that the cotyledon 
answers to a minute leaf rolled up, and that 



140 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 

a chink through which the plumule grows 
out is a part of the inrolled edges. 

"The embryo of the Indian corn shows 
the parts on a larger scale, and in a more 
open state. In those seeds the cotyledons 
remain and imbibe nourishment from the 
softened albumen and transmit it to the 
growing root below, and the new forming 
leaves above. 

'The general plan is the same in the 
onion, but with a striking difference. The 
embryo is long, and coiled in the albumen of 
the seeds. To ordinary examination it shows 
no distinction of parts, but germination 
plainly shows that all except the lower end 
of it is cotyledon. After it has lengthened 
into a long thread, the chink from which 
the plumule comes, is seen at the base, or 
near it. So the radicle is extremely short 
and does not lengthen, but sends out from 
its base a simple root, and afterwards others 
in a cluster. 

"Not only does the cotyledon lengthen 
enormously in the seedling, but in those like 
that of the iris, Indian corn and all the 
cereal-grains, it raises the light seed in the 
air, as you saw in the bean, and the tip still 
remains in the seed and feeds upon the albu- 
men. When that is exhausted and the 
plant-let well established in the soil, the 
upper end decays and falls away. In our 
next lesson we will examine some seeds." 



MiELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 141 

SEEDS CONTINUED. 

"We are going to examine some seed 
today, Melba. Here is a grain of Indian 
corn. Let's lay it flat-wise and cut away a 
little, so as to show the embryo. Can you 
see it? 

"Yes, I can. It lies on the albumen.'* 

"So you can see the albumen, can you?" 

"Yes, it makes the principal bulk of the 
seed." 

"Here is another grain. We will cut it 
through the middle in the opposite direction 
to the way we cut the other grain. What 
can you say now, dear?" 

"We have divided the embryo through its 
thick cotyledons and its plumule." 

"What can you say of the plumule?" 

"It consists of two leaves, one enclosing 
the other." 

"That is right. You have stated its posi- 
tion exactly. Here is a third grain. We 
will take the embryo of it out whole. The 
thick mess is cotyledon; that narrow body 
that is partly enclosed by it, is the plumule. 
The little projection at its base is the radicle. 
You see it is very short and is enclosed in 
the sheathing base of the first leaf of the 
plumule. 

"Now let's look at this grain that is germ- 
inating. This ascending sprout is the first 
leaf of the plumule. The younger leaves 



142 JIELBA'S PLAXT LESSONS 

are enclosed within it. You see the primary 
root has broken through at its base. Here 
is another one at a more advanced stage. 
You can see the second and third leaves are 
developing, but the first sheathing leaf does 
not further develop: it simply developed as 
a sort of sheath to protect the under parts 
within, but the second and third ones go on 
to form the first foliage. 

"I have some seeds that have appendages 
for dissemination. This is the winged seed 
of the trumpet creeper: this is the seed of 
the catalpa ; here is the seed of the milk- 
weed, with a coma or tuft or long, silky 
hairs at one end. These are the seeds, dear, 
that your story books call the milk-weed 
babies." 

"Why are they called that, ^liss 
Williams?" 

^'Because the brown seed is taken for the 
head, and the long, silky hairs are called 
the dress. All seeds are babies, or hold 
baby plants. Th's is the seed of the white 
v,-ater-lily. See, it is enclosed in its aril. 
This is the seed of the castor-oil plant: this 
short, thick appendage near the hilum is 
called the caruncle. 

"Xow, Melba. we are finishing up the talk 
on seeds. As you go on your tours of obser- 
vation don't fail to look for seed pods. As 
you find new ones, bring them to class. We 
beean our subject by saying that seeds are 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 143 

the final product of the flower, and for that 
reason are very important, but aside from 
the fact that they hold the new plants for 
the next season^s growth, they furnish 
the food upon which all animal life subsists. 

"You know we started by saying the work 
of the plant is to change air, earth, and water 
into vegetable matter upon which animal life 
must depend. I will give you a list of the 
seed that are used for food and see if you 
can add to it. 

"The seed of the bean vine, the pea, the 
wheat, the rye, the oats, the corn, the barley, 
the hickory tree, walnut tree, the almond 
tree, the peanut, the buckwheat, the butter- 
nut, the pepper plant, the rice plant, the 
hazelnut, and the beechnut. The following 
are used for medicine : The castor-oil plant ; 
and for spices, the seed of the nutmeg; for 
beverages, the seeds of the coffee plant and 
the seeds of the chocolate ; for coloring, the 
seeds of the saffron plant. The matured 
seed with embryo ready to germinate and 
reproduce its kind, completes the cycle of 
vegetable life in a flowering plant. 



144 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



PLANT CONSTRUCTION. 

"Today, Melba, we finish our subject on 
plant construction and will then take why 
plants grow, then we are through. 

"All plants are constructed on one plan, 
or type. Take almost any ordinary herb, 
shrub, or tree for a pattern, and it will 
exemplify the whole series. The parts of 
one plant answer to the parts of any other, 
with only certain differences in particular. 
The delight of the scientific botanist is in 
tracing out this common plan and detecting 
the likenesses under all the diversities, and 
noting the meaning of these manifold 
diversities. So the attentive study of any 
one plant from its growth out of the seed 
to the flowering and fruiting state, and the 
production of seed like that from which the 
plant grew, does not only give a correct 
general idea of the structure, growth and 
characteristics of flowering plants in gen- 
eral, Melba, but also ser^-es as a pattern or 
standard of comparisons from which to 
work or study. 

"Plants have two great peculiarities. 
First they form themselves, and second they 
multiply themselves. They reproduce their 
kind in a continued succession of individuals 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 14& 

and each plant owes its existence to a. 
parent and produces simliar individuals in, 
its turn. These individuals are connected 
by resemblances or relationships. They group- 
themselves in a cluster and this clustering 
is the ground of recognition between the 
same or related kinds. Their relationship 
is inferred from the close similarity between 
the plants. 

''All plants having their essential organs 
in common, are classed as related, or as 
belonging to the same family. A family, 
therefore, is composed of a group of plants, 
that essentially resemble each other. The 
species are the descendants of the same 
family stock and the varieties are the dif- 
fent plants belonging to the same species. 
Hybrids are the variations that come from 
crossing of the species." ,, 

"Miss Williams, please repeat that." 
"Well, first the family ; second, the specie ; 
third, variety, and fourth the hybrid. Now 
when we take up plants by their families, 
we shall look at them from these four stand- 
points. 



146 MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 



WHY PLANTS GROW. 

"Now, Melba, before we leave the subject 
entirely, I want to give you a talk on why 
plants grow. Plants with their organs, are 
kinds of living machines at work, and we 
want to find out how they operate. To do 
that we must consider the action of plants. 

"Take any plant and examine it and you 
will see that it is absorbing or drawing in 
what it lives on. This it obtains from the 
soil and air. This food consists of moisture, 
air and other matters that the rain as it 
soaks in the ground may have dissolved on 
its way to the roots of the plant. It is by 
the roots which are lodged in the damp soil 
that most of the moisture plants feed on is 
taken in, and with it they always get some 
earthy matter. Moisture is also absorbed 
by the leaves that is received by them from 
raindrops, dew and vapor. 

"Plants also absorb air. They have no 
stomach into which their food passes, and 
from it into their system, but they absorb 
it by their surface or skin. When they are 
very young they absorb by one part as much 
an another, but as they grow older, and the 
skin hardens, they absorb by the tips of their 
roots and by their leaves. The skin of every 



:\£ELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 147 

leaf is filled with little holes, or mouths, 
through which the air passes. 

"Plants cannot take any food in a solid 
state ; they drink it all in the form of water. 
When the moisture has reached the leaves 
with their little mouths exposed to the light 
and air, most of the water they receive is 
evaporated. What remains of the moisture 
is turned into vegetable matter. You can 
see, therefore, that plants depend greatly 
on the light. Except in cases where they 
are fed by vegetable matter prepared before- 
hand, they cannot grow without the light. 
Even in those cases it only serves to start 
the young plant, and when they have 
exhausted the prepared fr«od, they must 
work for themselves, and continue to do bo 
throughout the growing season. 

''The new made vegetable matter is dis- 
solved in the water, or sap in the leaf, and 
forms a thin mucilage. This is called pre- 
pared or elaborated sap. When it reaches 
that state, it is ready to be used in the 
growth of the plant.. It is the same mate- 
rial of which the plant is made and has to 
be carried to where it is needed and used in 
the growth of the plant. It may be used 
at once, or stored up until needed. In 
annual herbs, it is used for growth or for 
blossoming as fast as it is made. In bien- 
nials like the beet, the carrot and turnip, a 
part of it is stored up in the root and used 



148 MELBA'S PLAXT LESSOXS 

the next year. In perennials as the potato, 
a part is laid up in the tubers to begin 
growth the next season. In shrubs and 
trees, a part is annually deposited in the 
newest wood and bark to be used for devel- 
oping the buds the next spring. 

''\Mien vegetable matter is laid up, a large 
part of it is in the form of starch. Nearly 
the whole bulk of the potato, or grain of 
corn is starch. It consists of little grains 
which are like solidified mucilage, and it 
may be turned into mucilage again. Mucil- 
age, starch, sugar and vegetable matter are 
all nearly the same. The plant changes into 
the other as it needs it. For instance, in 
the leaves of the Indian corn, where it is 
made, the elaborated sap is in the form of 
mucilage ; in the stalk at the flowering t me 
it is changed into sugar ; in the grain a part 
of it is changed into starch. When the 
grain is planted and begins to grow, the 
starch is changed back to sugar, and in the 
little plant the sugar is changed into vege- 
table matter.'' 

"I understand it. Miss Williams," 
"Yes, I know you do. We shall now 
have a talk on what plants do. They purify 
the air for animals by inhaling the poison- 
ous carbonic acid gas, that they need, and 
by exhaling oxigen that animals need. They 
make all the food that animals live on. Ani- 
mals -can not live on air, water, or earth ; 



MELBA'S PLANT LESSONS 149 

nor are they able to change them into food 
that they can live on. The work is done for 
them by the plants. They furnish us with 
almost every comfort and convenience. The 
medicine for restoring, as well as the food 
for supporting health and strength comes 
from plants. They furnish all the clothing 
for man, not only what is made from the 
cotton plant, flax plant and silk-worm that 
is fed from the mulberry leaves, but also 
from the fur and wool of animals that owe 
their lives to plants. , 

"Plants furnish utensils, tools and build- 
ing materials. They supply all the fuel in 
the world. Plants make the earth beautiful. 
They are endowed with the power of trans- 
forming air, water anl earth into living 
matter and working them into an infinite 
variety of beautiful and useful forms. 
Leaves of every form, flowers of every hue, 
the large trunk, the fleshy root, hard nut, 
succulent fruits, the sugar of the orange, the 
acid of the lemon, the starch of the potato 
and the oil of the olive, poisonous juices, 
and refreshing beverages, are all made from 
sap, and the sap is made from water. The 
sap of different plants have different tastes ; 
some are sweet, as it is in the maple sugar, 
sour as it is in the rhubarb; pungent as in 
the pepper grass, and bitter as in many other 
plants. But whatever taste or color, it is used 
to nourish the plant. 

THE END. 



i 



